SOLON — 69 Solon kids spent last week learning, inventing, and being creative as they participated in Camp Invention at the Solon Intermediate School.
Kerri Coons, who manages the District’s Talented and Gifted (TAG) program, said it was the first year for the week-long camp in Solon.
“Camp Invention is sponsored by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and they have several different activities that are all STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) based that the kids have been working on all week,” she said. “They’ve been fun and interactive, and opportunities for kids to be creative and inventive and learn some entrepreneurial skills. It’s been really fun.”
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (www.invent.org) was founded in 1973 to honor the spirit of innovation and promote inventors as role models and works in partnership with over 2,800 schools and districts nationwide and in Puerto Rico with over three million children, students, educators, and innovators impacted through several programs promoting innovation for all ages, in all communities. The organization notes the support of 2,144 philanthropic partners helping to make STEM education more accessible.
Solon teachers, with help from high school and middle school students, worked with kids ranging from entering 1st grade to entering 6th grade during the week-long program.
“We were looking for 60 so it was a little more than we expected, but very doable,” said Coons.
Projects included building and decorating a Mimic Bot, which mimics sounds and when coupled with the child’s own creativity becomes a unique animatronic stuffie (stuffed animal). “They’ve learned about genetics and mimicry in nature (such as how a chameleon will change colors to blend in with its environment for protection),” said Coons. They also learned about entrepreneurialism by designing a pop-up shop, working to buy materials for their chosen product (a miniature pet shop, for example), and to promote their shop.
A project called ‘Catching Air’ taught the students about physics and skateboarding as they designed and built their own miniature skateboard park. ‘Invention Celebration’ taught them about party and event planning including the psychology of color (and the impact it can have) and how music can set a mood. Musical lessons included bringing up-cycled materials from home and transforming them into musical instruments. In addition, they designed invitations to their Friday, June 30 open house for their families to come and see all that they had done during the week.
“It’s been a very eventful but great week,” said Coons.
Thomas Rohner Jr. shows his Camp Invention creations to his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth, during an open house Friday, June 30 at the Solon Intermediate School. 69 kids participated in the week-long program.