Kids get creative with inventing at camp
Eleven-year-old Scott Oswald spent nearly a week designing and building a homemade car and child safety seat from recyclable products.
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Sara Neville (left), 8, and Emily Strickland, 8, friends from Blue Ridge Elementary, make a creation from used machine parts during Camp Invention at Martinez Elementary.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
"I made my car out of Popsicle and lollipop sticks and wooden wheels," Scott, a rising sixth-grader at Evans Middle School, said. "My safety seat is made out of an egg carton, and my child is an egg."
The assignment required Scott to build a car with a secured child safety seat, and roll it down an incline, hitting a wall.
But there was just one rule.
The egg could not crack.
In just a matter of seconds, and much to his surprise, Scott's invention failed.
"The egg cracked," he said, pointing to the damage.
Through a summer-enrichment program called National Inventors Hall of Fame, more than 62 Columbia County pupils such as Scott attended Camp Invention at Martinez Elementary School during the second week in July.
Paula McKnight, the camp's director and a guidance counselor at Martinez, said the purpose of the camp is to provide an educational experience for campers ages six to 12.
Brittany Poitevint, 13, and Blake Poitevint, 11, have grossed more than $60 for the Shriners Hospitals for Children at their lemonade stand on Washington Road near Flowing Wells Road. After paying their expenses, the children will turn over the remainder to the charity.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
"Camp Creative teaches campers how to use their minds, expand their thoughts and think creatively," she said about the inaugural event.
During the week, campers learned about problem solving, physics, mathematics, team work and more through five modules such as: "I Can Invent"; "Planet Zak"; "Spills and Chills"; and "Imagination Point Ride Physics."
At the end of camp, campers displayed their inventions in classrooms and throughout the school's hallway for visitors to observe.
Katlyn Gates, 9, said her favorite camp activity was disassembling old appliances and building new inventions.
"I had a great time," the rising fourth-grader said. "It was so much fun."