Inventing Fun Ways To Learn Camp Invention Provides Science Curriculum; Teachers Add Creativity For Summer Program

A scientist - and you could tell because she was the one wearing the lab coat - burst into the black chamber and demanded that students be inspected for security purposes.

One by one, they placed their hands against a screen and the scientist passed light over them. Their hands left shadowlike imprints on the screens, and the students were cleared to enter the “top-secret” lab.

The lab was part of Camp Invention, which teaches science and math to elementary school students. The camp runs all week at Betty Kiefer Elementary. It is one of several weeklong Camp Inventions that will be held in North Idaho and Eastern Washington this summer.

Camp Invention is a growing national program that began in 1990. This summer, more than 20,000 children will attend 357 camps nationwide. Regional coordinator Diane Rowen Garmire said Camp Invention provides the curriculum, but creative teachers deliver the excitement with ideas such as the security-clearance test.

“These kids know that’s not true, but it appeals to their sense of humor and sense of fun,” Garmire said. “It makes learning an enjoyable experience.”

Once inside the lab, the children met Professor Potion, also known as Michelle Kilbourne, a teacher at Sunnyside Elementary School in Kellogg. She sported a sparkly purple robe and wild eyeglasses that magnified her eyeballs.

Kilbourne taught the young chemists to make hand sanitizer from a package of gelatin, a cup of hot water, a cup of cold water and two tablespoons of alcohol.

“We’re making a formula,” said Morgan Abrams, a third-grader at Ponderosa Elementary School. “We’re not sure if it’s going to work yet.”

“We’re making something to wash your hands before you eat,” said Gaelen Guzman, a third-grader at Spirit Lake Elementary School.

Children come from all over the region for the camps, which cost $170, or $155 through early registration. The fee pays for teacher salaries, supplies and other expenses. The camps are open to children entering grades two through six.

Camp Invention was created by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, a nonprofit organization, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Ford Motor Co. is the corporate sponsor.

This region’s Camp Invention program is noteworthy because it is testing a new curriculum, which will be used nationwide if it receives positive feedback.

Though each camp has room for up to 110 children, the Betty Kiefer camp only has 43 students. This is the second year the camps have been offered in this area, and Garmire thinks attendance will grow as word spreads.

“I think it’ll get bigger and bigger,” she said. “It’s a wonderful way for them to learn science, but also creativity.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: Camp Inventions at four more sites

Here is the schedule for the remaining Camp Inventions to be held in North Idaho and Eastern Washington this summer:

Brentwood Elementary School in the Mead School District: Monday to June 30.

Pioneer School, a private school in Veradale: July 10 to 14.

Hayden Meadows Elementary School in the Coeur d’Alene School District: July 10 to 14.

Discovery School, a private school in Spokane: July 17 to 21.

For more information, call (208) 664-8791. Information about the national Camp Invention program is available at www.invent.org.