Thegatewaynews.com - Camp Invention returning in June

Children will explore Mars, renovate an art museum's sculpture garden, and help rebuild a polluted town when Camp Invention returns to Henry Defer Intermediate School this summer.

The program is set for June 16 to June 20.

During a project call Moving at Rocket Speed (MARS), Camp Invention participants will plan and execute a trip to Mars, becoming imaginary first astronauts to explore the red planet.

In Art Park, campers will try to save a museum from losing donations by designing a new sculpture garden to please the public and the museum's largest donor. During "Saving Sludge City," the Camp Invention team will rebuild and clean a polluted city, making it a friendlier environment for residents.

Open to children entering grades one through six in the fall, Camp Invention fosters creativity, teamwork, inventive thinking, and science literacy. The program was created in 1990 by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation and receives support from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

"Camp Invention's creators continue to surprise and delight us with their innovative approach to education," said John Oleksa, gifted and talented programs coordinator at Defer School. "Children who attend Camp Invention learn skills that enhance their abilities to brainstorm, solve problems, and work in teams. As educators and parents, we know that children of all ages should continue sharpening these skills as we enter an era in which critical thinking will be extremely important to their future."

Oleksa will direct a staff of local instructors and counselors. The camp features a staff to camper ratio of eight-to-one.

For more information, call Oleksa at 330-422-2480.