Schools

District 66 Hosts Camp Invention

Innovative camp offers summer program at two locations.

There’s more emphasis than ever on providing our country’s youth with resources to strengthen their skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

This summer, Camp Invention, a program of Invent Now, Inc., in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office is offering two week-long day camps for first- through sixth-graders designed to foster advancement in those areas and more.

 in Darien will host a June camp and Pleasantdale Elementary School in LaGrange will be the site for the July camp.

Find out what's happening in Downers Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Each themed camp is based on a nationally derived curriculum that is administered by local educators with a staff-to-child ratio of 1:8. Students in both programs are grouped with same-aged peers and engage in five modules that integrate key concepts in a problem-solving environment that encourages creative solutions.

Students get involved in hands-on activities and are encouraged to use everyday materials to “think outside the box” with innovative ideas.

Find out what's happening in Downers Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Each module’s curriculum is carefully constructed to identify the components it instills within the areas of STEM content, as well as skills in critical thinking, communication and collaboration.

The CREATE Program at Elizabeth Ide fosters these concepts by challenging students to “survive” after a crash landing on Planet Zak, restore environmental health in Sludge City, create amusement park rides and play traditional games using nontraditional components.

The SPARK Program at Pleasantdale contains modules on decoding messages to engineer the construction of a clubhouse, exploring atoms and molecules as they relate to “bouncy balls” and investigating animal inventions or adaptations for survival.

Both camps culminate in an Edison-inspired workshop where children invent a machine using broken parts of appliances after which the product is then marketed to the other students.

Michelle Brown has been the Camp Invention director for six years. An educator, she is enthusiastic about the nationally acclaimed camp with sponsors including the Motorola Foundation, The Dow Chemical Company, Ford Motor Company, Duke Energy, Time Warner Cable and Continental Airlines.

“The camps instill a love for generally difficult subjects like math and science as well as opportunities to mature by learning about multicultural studies,” said Brown, whose second-grade daughter Isabella will be participating for the second year.

Brown explained that the program allows in-depth exploration, an opportunity most students might not get normally.

“There’s time to spend both in groups and individually with creativity and materials that cannot be covered during a jam-packed school year,” Brown added.

Invent Now, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that began in 1990, is partnered with nearly 1,500 schools in 49 states and has been studied by Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. 

Brown said popularity for the camps grows each year as word spreads about the students’ positive experiences. This year’s enrollment at the two schools has already doubled from last year. And the curriculum rotates every year with additional camps to eliminate repetition.

Registration, which is also open to students with special needs, costs $215 for the six-and-a-half hour daily, week-long camp, with discounts offered for signing up with a sibling or friend.

Isabella Brown is very excited to attend camp again this summer. 

“Her favorite activities are those where she is allowed to think outside the box and use conventional materials to make extraordinary discoveries,” explained her mom.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here