Literacy Tools Unlock Children’s Potential

All great innovations begin with an idea. It’s for this reason that many of the world’s greatest inventors have kept personal notebooks where they record their thoughts, sketches and novel concepts. With support from Annual Fund donors, the National Inventors Hall of Fame^® (NIHF) ensures each year’s Camp Invention^® participants can do the same.

According to Jayme Cellitioci, creativity and innovation strategist at NIHF, providing literacy tools including Inventor Logs is one of the most important components of each year’s brand-new Camp Invention curriculum.

The NIHF education team designs Inventor Logs to allow children to ideate, explore their ideas, express themselves and record their thinking. The team has discussed the value of inventors notebooks and logs with hundreds of inventors, including NIHF Inductees and Collegiate Inventors Competition^® Finalists, and the insights gained from these conversations ensure the literacy tools provided at camp are both effective and inspiring.

Encouraging Reading Progress

Camp Invention is best known for its unique approach to bringing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) concepts to life. But as campers like Lydia Fausnaugh can tell you, the camp experience reaches beyond STEM with the integration of reading and writing through creative, open-ended activities.

For 8-year-old Lydia, math has always been a subject she enjoys and an area in which she excels. Reading, on the other hand, hadn’t been as appealing.

Her mother Rachel explains that Lydia is very creative and loves to draw, but she had struggled with reading and was often reluctant to pick up a book. Her experiences at Camp Invention have helped to change that.

“The Inventor Log she received at Camp Invention proved to be an amazing literacy tool,” Rachel said. “It provided an opportunity to share her thoughts and ideas through a combination of drawing and writing.”

Accompanying the themed activities featured in each year’s camp program, Inventor Logs enhance each child’s understanding of STEM topics. They also empower children to read more about the concepts that interest them, sketch their inventions and trademark-worthy logos, and write out their ideas, product pitches and notes on their intellectual property. Tools like these tap into a camper’s curiosity and creativity while helping them build confidence in reading and writing.

When Lydia began using her Inventor Log, Rachel explained, “She first took to the drawing elements, which then led to an easier transition to add words to her ideas and sketches.”

Inventor Logs serve not only as meaningful souvenirs of their program experience, but also as launchpads for future ideas and innovations.

“It was amazing to see the impact the program had on her literacy skills,” said Rachel. “Lydia went from not enjoying reading to being one of the only kids in her class to complete a book challenge.”

Help More Children Build Essential Skills

Your gift to the Annual Fund ensures that children like Lydia will continue to have access to engaging literacy tools that will help them become confident readers and writers, as well as innovative problem solvers.

Use the link below and select “Area of Greatest Need/Annual Fund” as the program you would like to support to help make these wonderful experiences possible for more children across the country.

When you give today, you can change tomorrow.