Camp Invention 2022: Adapting for Different Ages and Learning Styles

Each year, the National Inventors Hall of Fame^® (NIHF) education team develops a brand-new curriculum for Camp Invention^®, packed with engaging activities that are differentiated to offer greater accessibility and the appropriate level of challenge. While an activity within a module may be based on the same premise for both primary and intermediate participants, aspects of the activity (including videos, materials and supporting graphics) may vary.

Read below to learn more about the differentiation built into each of the modules in the new 2022 Camp Invention program, Explore.

Marble Arcade

In Marble Arcade^™, Gamers zigzag through physics, engineering and gaming as they build a Marble Arcade that shows how math, motion and mass can turn science into a marble-ous experience using innovative mods, skins and Expansion Packs! 

• The youngest primary participants have the option of using a smaller box as their Marble Arcade base.
   
• Intermediate participants are given additional chain reaction challenges, including more steps in their reactions and constraints on materials or time.
   
• Intermediate participants test variables and delve more deeply into physics concepts like friction, forces and energy.
   
• Intermediate participants create more precise diagrams and designs, and complete more complex builds, including additional steps and specific features.
   
• Intermediate participants choose from additional kinetic sculpture materials and create larger, more collaborative chain reactions and Marble Arcades.

Spacecation

Get ready for an experience that is out of this world as children engineer a personalized Spacepack, construct an Astro-Arm and use it to dock a spacecraft prototype during this amazing Spacecation^™ filled with hands-on experiments, including erupting polymer snow ice volcanoes!

• Primary participants use a hand-held magnet to mine an asteroid.
   
• Intermediate participants create a hydraulic system attachment to operate their Astro-Arm.
   
• Intermediate participants conduct a spacesuit cooling test.
   
• Intermediate participants calculate the monetary value of the mined minerals and use a magnet attached to their Astro-Arm to mine an asteroid.

Robotic Aquatics

Children are recruited to be Trainees of Robotic Aquatics^™ Academy, where they retrieve their very own aquatic animal, design a tank habitat — complete with a new aquatic plant, enrichment item and symbiotic Best Friend Forever — and invent cutting-edge Aqua Innovations!

• Intermediate participants have additional engineering design parameters for retrieving their aquatic animal.
   
• Intermediate participants use a dichotomous key to identify their habitat scene.
   
• Intermediate participants have additional design parameters for their Aqua Innovation prototypes.

NIHF’s The Attic

In NIHF’s The Attic^™, children solve riddles to unlock inventions that help people create. They explore these inventions and glean insights about materials science, chemistry and art, and then use them as inspiration to design their own spinning Arty Bot!

• Primary and intermediate participants engage with a different crafty character script for their performance. Teachers select the most appropriate handout for the age groups.
   
• In color mixing, primary participants are given two colors on their color palette while intermediate participants are given three. This helps primary participants be more successful in creating their own custom color.
   
• Primary participants follow along with an Arty Bot assembly video while intermediate participants use the assembly instructions in their Inventor Log to build confidence and problem-solving skills.
   
• Intermediate participants more thoroughly discuss how art historians and computer scientists can work together to discover counterfeit or forged pieces of art.

Learn More About Camp Invention

To learn more about the latest all-new Camp Invention program, we invite you to visit our website. If you are interested in bringing this hands-on STEM experiences to your school, contact us today!