Valdosta State University has partnered with the National Inventors Hall of Fame to present Camp Invention June 11-15. Creative and innovative dreamers in the elementary grades are invited to attend this fun, educational event.
 
Hosted by VSU’s Department of Mathematics, Camp Invention is the only nationally recognized nonprofit elementary enrichment program inspired by the brightest thinkers around — the National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees. All activities are designed to be fun, hands-on, challenging, and age-appropriate, with a focus on encouraging problem-solving, teamwork, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
 
Camp Invention attendees will spend the week rotating through a series of activities designed to encourage creative thinking, teambuilding skills, and a passion for innovation.
 
In Robotic Pet Vet, attendees will use tools, circuitry, biology, and physiology to build and personalize a take-home robotic dog, and they will apply design and engineering principles to construct a one-of-a-kind dog park.
 
In Mod My Mini Mansion, children will dream up and design their very own futuristic smart home filled with gadgets and cutting-edge technology. The mini mansion will allow them to explore renewable energy sources, binary coding, and architecture concepts.
 
Armed with the futuristic Optibot, a small self-driving robot, children will also discover aerial, aquatic, and land transportation technology. They will design tracks for their take-home bots and learn how sensors are used in autonomous vehicles.
 
Camp Invention attendees will invent something new every day, from a dancing dinosaur to a cupcake catapult, and explore fun realities, such as the chemistry of magnetic slime, as they experience what it is like to be a physicist, engineer, and entrepreneur. Through collaboration, discovery, and invention prototyping, they will solve real-world issues.
 
This is VSU’s seventh year presenting Camp Invention to the Valdosta-Lowndes County community. Activities will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Nevins Hall. Registration is $225 per child and includes all supplies and a T-shirt. Visit www.campinvention.org to register.
 
Camp Invention is appropriate for children entering kindergarten and first through sixth grades during the 2018-2019 academic year. Children are grouped by ages, and all classes are taught by certified teachers. There is a five-to-one ratio of campers to workers.