Give the Gift of STEM
Register for Camp Invention® before Dec. 31 using code GIFT35 to SAVE $35 and you’ll be entered for a chance to win your 2025 registration for free. Read the official sweepstakes rules for details.
What is Camp Invention?
- Who: Curious kids entering grades K-6.
- What: A confidence-boosting STEM summer camp where kids build creative inventions and lasting friendships. Led by qualified local educators since 1990, our camps offer new and exciting hands-on experiences every year.
- Where: Over 1,000 camp programs run nationwide in schools, community centers and other local facilities.
- When: Our camps’ dates and hours, including start and end times, vary by location. Some locations offer Extended Day programs to fit families' busy schedules – check your specific site for details.
- How Much: Pricing for this weeklong STEM summer camp, complete with take-home materials and limitless inspiration, starts at $275. See your local camp for exact pricing.
- Why: To help your child grow their confidence, build problem-solving skills, reduce summer learning loss, improve academic achievement, discover innovative role models and more!
See the Real-Life Impact of Camp Invention
Explore our new 2025 Camp Invention program, Discover
Claw Arcade™
Campers unleash the power of creativity as they construct their own functional claw machine, exploring physics concepts in easy-to-reach ways. Finding inspiration from claws in nature, they build, test and adapt their clawsome machine, then fill it with novel prizes. Along the way, they pick up entrepreneurship skills and uncover how to hook inventors on their amazing new arcade experience!
Illusion Workshop™
Campers step into the mesmerizing world of optical illusions, where things aren’t always as they seem! They discover how special effects work in art, movies, theater and animation, and they invent moving props with inspiration from real-life inventors behind theme park technology. Tapping into their curiosity, they build their own spinning animation device and become illusion experts, ready to design entertainment experiences of the future.
In Control™
Campers hit the road for the ultimate trip! They assemble a custom control panel complete with a transmitter and receiver, personalize their dashboard, reference a traditional travel map and explore the use of artificial intelligence in GPS. While inventing their way out of bumps in the road, they build confidence, overcome obstacles, and find joy in both the journey and the destination.
Penguin Launch™
Campers unlock their imagination as they head to Antarctica to explore penguin habitats in snowy landscapes. With the help of a Snow-ver – a rover equipped with a robotic research penguin – they glide across icy surfaces to enter penguin colonies undetected. To deliver planet-saving eco-messages, they design launchers to propel their own magnetic plush penguin across the South Pole and beyond!
Find Out What Families Are Saying
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“[My daughter] absolutely loves going to Camp Invention. She asked all year round, ‘When is it time for Camp Invention?’ The only complaint she has is it is not long enough; one week isn’t enough for her. She wishes it would never end.”
Tammy M.Dickinson, ND
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“My grandchild gained knowledge, confidence, creative solutions, friends, a sense of cooperative learning, an openness to other’s ideas, a venue to share her imagination and creativity, and an opportunity each day to SO much fun while learning!”
Alexa N.Anderson, SC
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“Each afternoon, our son came home pumped about his day of camp. Love how it had his gears turning. We'll definitely recommend this camp to all of our friends!”
Danielle G.Bellingham, WA
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“[My daughter] went to visit Purdue University today to see the polytechnic school. I shed some tears today thinking about her experiences at Camp Invention. You all introduced her to another world she may have never even visited.”
Alana D.Dyer, IN
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“Camp Invention had a huge impact on both my children who attended! They came home with very detailed explanations of ‘symbiosis’ and how they built things. It was amazing! It was a wonderful experience from beginning to end.”
Heather P.Harrison, AR
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“I had two grandchildren attend. What was immediately obvious was their enthusiasm about the program projects and the amount of detail they shared about the projects.”
Dana M.St. Louis, MO
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“Long ago, I participated in Camp Invention. It taught me crucial social skills, but more importantly, it gave me critical thinking skills that I’d have struggled to gain otherwise. Please keep providing amazing experiences for kids, it changes lives!”
Jaden S.Brainerd, MN
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“My son is quite the engineer and inventor. When a neighbor raved about this camp, my husband and I immediately signed him up. We appreciate how kind, thoughtful, fun and safe the teachers all kept the entire camp.”
Sonya I.Indianapolis, IN
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“My kiddo loves Camp Invention! He is extremely smart and creative but struggles in school due to his disability. He just finished his second summer at Camp Invention and had an amazing time without one issue.”
Leslie S.Cresson, TX
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“The staff was so welcoming and inclusive, and my son made so many friends at camp. He loved the whole experience and was so proud to bring home and show off everything he made. I would highly recommend this program to everyone.”
Kayla E.Manorville, NY
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“We have two kids in camp (9 and 7), and they talk about what they did in camp nonstop when they get home and build things together. They are always showing each other things that can be ‘repurposed’ for something else and building gadgets together.”
Dan O.Lowell, IN
Ready to Sign Up?
How to Gift This STEM Fun
To give your camper something they can unwrap, print this Camp Invention Holiday Certificate to represent the amazing summer camp experience to come!
You also can check out these gift ideas to wrap up even more hands-on STEM exploration.