Camp Invention Sparks Curiosity, Boosts STEM Skills in Lincoln

Campers at Camp Invention in Lincoln prepared to hatch a mysterious animal egg by immersing it in water.

By Michele Evans, IPCF Vice President (Programs)

The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) received a $2,500 General Grant for its Camp Invention at the Lincoln Park District. The weeklong camp was attended by 27 children set to enter kindergarten through sixth grade in the fall and one learner-in-training entering middle school.

Rachel Murray, NIHF Regional Program Manager for Central and Southern Illinois, explained that this year’s program, called Spark, inspires curiosity and helps kids build essential STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills through collaboration with friends and one-of-a-kind creative problem-solving experiences. Campers move through an Inventor Log – a workbook of lessons and experiments – that guides them through the various stages of the invention process. Topics include identifying a community challenge and developing a solution, product concept, patents, design, testing and data collection, and marketing a product they design.

Campers at Camp Invention in Lincoln prepared to hatch a mysterious animal egg by immersing it in water

Wednesday afternoon’s lessons sparked “out of this world” innovation by having campers travel to a distant planet and explore what elements were needed to sustain life there. After each lesson, the children worked together in groups on their experiments including “growing” a space plant from a paper tree and crystals and hatching a mysterious animal egg by immersing it in water.

NIHF updates its programs frequently and is piloting a new program in select schools around the country that will be rolled out next year.

Campers worked on a lesson to grow a space plant from a paper tree and crystals.

Lead teacher Courtney Snow, a fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln’s Washington-Monroe Elementary School, said the majority of school children in the town qualify for free or reduce lunches. Two-thirds of the children participating in Lincoln received financial assistance to attend the camp.

“Without the grant from IPCF, only 9 children would have been able to attend this year,” she said. She added that one camper in foster care was able to attend thanks to the grant and could experience something they would never have had the opportunity to do, plus they were expanding their learning over the summer.

This is the fourth year the program had been offered at the Lincoln Park District’s facility, said Courtney. She said planners had looked at hosting it this year at her elementary school, but the school was having work done over the summer that made it impossible to host the camp. While she is appreciative of the park district for hosting the camp, she is hopeful that it can move to a local school better equipped to facilitate children’s learning.

In fact, she was already thinking about applying for grants for next year so more children could participate and expand much-needed STEM skills.

Illinois Prairie Community Foundation awarded a General Grant to the National Inventors Hall of Fame to help fund this program. If you would like to support education programs like this,  donate online.