3 Ways to Keep Innovating After Camp Invention

One of the many strengths of Camp Invention^®, the K-6 summer program from the National Inventors Hall of Fame^®, is how it benefits and inspires children long after the program ends. At the conclusion of each summer’s brand-new Camp Invention program, not only do students show increases in engagement and academic performance, but often, schools that have hosted the experience find ways to repurpose leftover program materials to keep the inspiration and innovation going throughout the year.

STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities are great ways to both use your remaining Camp Invention materials and keep children engaged in problem solving and prototyping throughout the school year. Below, find a selection of activities that will offer your students that chance to explore STEM and innovation with easily accessible materials.

Be Instrumental

Challenge your students to build their own DIY instrument by first brainstorming different ideas and sketching a few designs and then using materials like cardboard, tape and rubber bands to construct their prototype. Along the way, they’ll explore the science of sound waves and experiment with how the different sizes and shapes can alter the sounds their instruments produce. While prototyping their designs, students can practice their creative problem-solving skills and invent new ways to make music.

Marker Mystery

Perfect for Camp Invention sites that have a lot of leftover water-soluble markers, this activity invites students to explore the science of chromatography, a process for separating the components of a mixture. They’ll cut a coffee filter into fourths, mark each strip and dip them into a bowl of water to uncover hidden colors. Do bright colors produce similar chromatography colors? What about darker colors? In this small way, your students can practice a technique used in many different fields, ranging from testing for contaminants in food to identifying sources of oil pollution in the ocean.

Duct Tape Millionaire

Do you have a lot of duct tape left over from Camp Invention? In this STEM activity, students cut a hole out of the top of a tissue box, place a small cup inside it and wrap the box with duct tape to create an innovative speaker the world has never seen before. National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee Amar Bose, a pioneer in modern acoustics and inventor of feedback control, experimented and prototyped in a similar way when developing sound-amplifying technology. Encourage your students to modify their designs to explore how this impacts the sound.

Share Your Creative Ideas

Are you using your leftover Camp Invention materials in a creative way? We would love for you to share your students’ unique creations on our Facebook page!