Elementary school boys and girls from this area are learning and having fun at the same time as they participate in Camp Invention® at Bluestem Elementary School in Leon.
It’s third year for the school to host this special camp. More than 40 first through smith grade students from Leon, Andover, Benton, Augusta,Towanda, and Rose Hill are in the Bluestem classrooms and activity areas.
The week’s theme is the Viking Age. Projects are aimed at educating the youngsters about the trials of early-day Vikings as they set about to explore the world.
“It’s a totally hands-on program,” said camp director Debbie Webster, who points down a hallway where the kids have taken apart familiar boxes, plastics and more to construct items they’ll need to complete daily tasks.
There are Blue, Green and Yellow teams trying to do their best in each module of this inventive camp.
“Each day, the students continue to tap into their creative selves and realize the joy of discovery through investigation,” adds Webster.
Earlier this week, the kids made sailing vessels, learned how to use a compass to locate objects placed at the school, deciphered a note in ancient writing, created a simple machine to launch table tennis balls, and attempted to create a new substance.
It’s a tuition-based week of fun and learning. Webster and her staff have secured a number of sponsor contribution from Leon, El Dorado, and Augusta to help reduce expenses of the program for the students and their parents, but continues to invite support.
This year’s modules in the science-based curriculum are Viking Treasure Trek, Comic Book Science, LandSled X-treme, Fantasy Inventions, Complicated Machines. and Recess Remix. These modules expose the boys and girls to the fields of science, math, engineering, and technology which are called “the international language of invention.”
Camp Invention® is presented nationwide by Invent Now Kids, a subsidiary of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation.
An Invention Showcase will be held at the camp’s conclusion around 1:45 p.m. Friday afternoon at the school.
Augusta, Kan. —
