More than 100 Levittown students entering grades 3-5 have embraced the Levittown Public Schools' Camp Invention this summer from July 16-27 at Wisdom Lane Middle School. The two-week enrichment program, inspired by the inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, encourages creativity, innovation and collaboration through a variety of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematic activities each day.
With the guidance of certified teachers from throughout the district and student volunteers from Division Avenue High School and MacArthur High School, who serve approximately 50 hours assisting with the program, campers rotate to different locations in the building during the day. They engage in STEAM activities such as building their own futuristic mini mansions, customizing their own robotic dog in Robotic Pet Vet, collaborating and crafting their own inventions in Stick To It and designing and testing tracks for their own Optibot, a self-driving bot that senses changes in light.
"I like that you get to make stuff and can keep trying until it works," said incoming Gardiners Avenue fifth-grader Jake Hoelderlin. "My favorite part of camp so far was making a mini mansion."
In addition, the campers participate in Camp Invention games on a daily basis that encourage teamwork, cooperation and coordination skills. Creative problem solving skills are emphasized, rather than winning or losing and campers play and then reinvent classic games.
