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Camp Invention Returns to Reynoldsburg!
James at Camp Invention works on his cape
For the third year, Summit Road Elementary School staff and volunteers host Camp Invention, a nationally acclaimed summer program where STEM concepts come to life. The camp has four stations where K-6 grade students execute design challenges and use their imagination to invent an item that will help them solve real-world problems.
 
Invention Force: in this superhero-themed station, students first make a cape and mask to create a superhero identity, and then use upcycling (recycled materials) to defeat "The Plagerist" through invention and creativity.
 
Deep Sea Mystery: students learn about navigation and engineering as they build boats that must carry cargo without sinking. They built a Polaris, or type of telescope, to navigate the stars and researched a fish that scientists thought was extinct, but turns out to be very much alive.
 
Orbots: this robotics station allows students to code their robots for games.
 
Farm Tech: students learn about food science, test DNA of animals and must build catapults to move hay bales to feed the livestock.
 
Summit Road Elementary Assistant Principal LaShell Dauterman, along with Austin, a leader-in-training, three teachers and two volunteers keep the camp moving smoothly and help the kids with their projects. Austin, a student at STEM Middle at Baldwin Road, went through the camp as an elementary student and the National Inventors Hall of Fame, based in Canton, Ohio, selected him as a leader-in-training for Reynoldsburg's camp.
 
There are seven Camp Invention locations in Ohio, and Reynoldsburg is the only one in our area. Scholarships are available and if siblings attend, discounts apply to help offset costs. Over the past three years, more than 200 students have gone through the camp.