May 15 2006
The first session is set for July 10-14, and the second session is July 17-21. Both will take place in Indiana State's College of Education (501 N. 8th St.)
Camp Invention, which is known and presented at sites across the country, integrates science, history, math, and the arts in a safe, creative, and fun environment. Each one-week session is an enrichment program in a local venue that fosters inventive thinking, creativity, teamwork, and science literacy. The camp curriculum also meets many state academic standards in science, language arts, and social studies.
Pat Wheeler, professor of elementary education at Indiana State, and Tim Moss, a teacher at Dixie Bee Elementary, will serve as camp directors, and local certified teachers will lead the five modules each day. In addition, high school and college students will serve as counselors for the program, which features a low staff-to-child ratio, with one staff member for every eight children.
The five learning modules for the camp include:
- "Sea Worthy," where the Planet Ocean Team, a group dedicated to exploring the water world on Earth, contacts the Camp Invention program for help with the group's next expedition to collect marine samples. Children spend the week creating boats and devices capable of locating and collecting the samples and delivering them to the research center.
- "Fair Games," where it's carnival time as children create new and amazing games to challenge each other. Using the concepts of equivalence, probability and estimation, children build games ranging from high striker and lever launches to miniature golf holes to games of their own design.
- "The Lost Treasure," where children discover that Ivana Digit, a famous archeology professor, has gone missing just when she's about to unearth her most important discovery - the lost treasure.
- "AMAZing Games," where activity and exercise meet creativity and invention in this energetic, recreational unit. Children use their inventive minds to create exciting new games.
- "I Can Invent," where children create a fantasy invention, either individually or with a small group. For the first two days, children participate in Take Apart - where they take apart broken or discarded household appliances such as clocks, radios and telephones. After completing Take Apart, they use the parts of these household items to create a new problem-solving invention of their own or to improve an existing product.
Cost of the camp is $199, which includes materials, includes daily snacks and a T-shirt. A discount of $20 per child also is available with Camp Invention's "Bring-A-Buddy" program. Registration is limited. Registrations received after May 31, require an additional $10 for late processing.
Students interested can register for the camp online at the Camp Invention Web site. Scholarship assistance also is available by contacting Pat Wheeler at (812) 237-2851 or email@example.com or Tim Moss at (812) 238-2594 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
CONTACTS: Pat Wheeler, co-director, Camp Invention, (812) 237-2851; or Tim Moss, co-director, Camp Invention, T81@aol.com
WRITER: Maria Greninger, associate director, Communications & Marketing, Indiana State University, (812) 237-4357 or email@example.com
Camp Invention, an exciting summer day experience for children entering grades one through six, returns to Terre Haute this year during two week-long camps at Indiana State University.