AIKEN – Hosted at the University of South Carolina Aiken’s Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, Camp Invention invited children to enjoy a fun-filled day camp, inspired by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, to teach the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The camp began June 13 and winds up on June 17.
Children in kindergarten up to sixth grade were encouraged by camp leaders to learn about the life changing inventions of those before them and how they helped humanity progress, while also stimulating a new love and curiosity for unexplored topics such as robotic aquatics.
Director of Special Programs, John Hutchens, describes Camp Invention as “super active, everchanging, organized fun” and says the center’s mission is to “infuse the love of STEM.”
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Long time attendee and now, camp leader Coleman Jordan says his favorite part of camp as a kid was the fun gym games and how it “gives you something to do.” He now enjoys manning the hot glue gun station and seeing other boys and girls harness an interest in the program he loved growing up.
Exciting activities include roleplaying different careers, solving riddles and building 3D models of inventions like the shoe and jellyfish catchers. Each station of the camp is devoted to focusing on a different subject and involving campers in hands-on activities to combine kinesthetic learning and problem solving.
“We hope that [campers] learn about inventions and how things come to be. Things don’t just happen,” says Hutchens. “A lot of people take for granted shoes, cameras, televisions, phones, and by introducing [campers] to people that are in the Invention Hall of Fame they can find out how these things came to be while also infusing that love of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics).”
Hutchens says parents choose Camp Invention over other day camps because of its impressive curriculum and organized structure which changes every year.
“A lot of planning goes into it, all of our instructors are certified educators and there’s even additional volunteers on top of that,” says Hutchens.
Hutchens says for kids that age out of camp, like Jordan, there is a separate program which allows them to return and “experience a new role” by transitioning them into leadership positions.
Hutchens says encouraging STEM interest in children is important because of the area’s wide job market and demand for STEM careers.
“We want to task ourselves with keeping the flow of STEM professionals in the area. With the different sites, medical districts, with Fort Gordon- there’s just so many STEM careers,” says Hutchens. “We pride ourselves in introducing kids, adults, everybody that visits us to different STEM topics and explaining what is STEM. Just kind of showcasing and providing them insight into what careers are out there and keeping that pipeline open.”
When asked why camps devoted to STEM are necessary, even if the job market is not a factor or concern, Hutchens explained how enjoyable camps revolving around science can alter a community’s viewpoint. He says this is important because a child’s like or dislike of learning on a particular topic can be a result of parents’ level of interest in said area.
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“It’s an interesting topic. Some people are afraid of science, math, and technology. You know, it’s not something that they’re comfortable with, but showing kids how fun it can be encourages them to get over that apprehension- that happens even with adults who come [visit the center],” says Hutchens. “The parents have just as much fun as the kids because they’re learning about things that maybe they were intimidated by in the past and now they’re like ‘oh this is really cool!’”
Other camps and programs the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center offers focus on topics such as coding, robotics, nature, cyber-safety and security, and specific careers within STEM. Hutchens expresses that all these programs are necessary because it stresses the importance of taking out the intimidation in learning about STEM.
“Every day, parents are in the car line saying ‘My kids are so tired when they come home, but they love it and can’t wait to come back!’” says Hutchens. “We get emails and phone calls about kids loving [Camp Invention].”
For more information about USC Aiken’s summer Discovery camps go to usca.edu/rpsec/departments/summer-programs/discovery-camps.
For more information about Camp Invention go to invent.org/programs/camp-invention.
