Day 5: Friday in Geo-Quest & Inventor's Showcase!

Welcome to the Inventors’ Showcase program!

Everyone has had a great time brainstorming ideas, exploring concepts, and constructing inventions this week at Camp Invention! They never cease to astonish us with their innovative ideas and amazing enthusiasm for discovering and learning through hands-on fun. It’s hard to believe that the week is over; here’s a recap of what we did on our last day… 

On our final day in the Ecoverse™ module, we prepared to dig down deep as we investigated clues indicating nearby fossils. We invented super digging machines and used them to uncover hidden fossil treasures. We became full-fledged expeditionists and received our final glyph to complete our petrosphere, having mastered the Earth’s elements! 

It was the final day in Cache Dash™ and we finished designing solutions to our nature extreme global challenges. We then received a message from Hawai’i thanking us for our outstanding inventing and solution-finding and we earned a final cache. We used its contents to design our own personal signet ring that we can use in future outdoor treasure hunting to log in and to leave our mark on the world!

At last! In Amazing Atlas™, we found our journey ended in the extreme cold as the latitude and longitude coordinates revealed we were in the middle of Antarctica, one of the most uninhabited places on Earth! We invented a “glacier digger” and discovered how challenging it is to bore through ice and examine ice samples. Our training is complete, and we are ready to take on new challenges wherever we go!

Victory! Our ducks made a splash as they flew home today in the I Can Invent: Launchitude™ module! We showed off our Duck Chucking Device by launching our international rubber ducks and destroying competitor duck territory! Be sure to take a picture of our machines in action after the Inventor's Showcase!

This week, we’ve had lots of fun making connections between teamwork and creative problem solvingin the Geo-Games™ module. We learned to play old games in new ways and new games in old ways and realized that games can be whatever you
make them!

 


MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

TODAY at 2:45pm, the children will be hosting the Inventors’ Showcase program. This is their chance to show off what they’ve been busy doing this week. All family and friends are welcome and encouraged to come.

Day 4: Thursday in Geo-Quest

It’s hard to believe that Camp Invention is almost over! Just one more day left after today, and look how much we have created! By asking ourselves how and why things work the way they do (or don’t), we have gained a wealth of understanding about our world. Here’s what we tackled today…

On Day Four in Ecoverse™, we continued to venture into the realm of fire and molten rock. After glimpsing what types of tools volcanologists employ, we designed our own lava and magma investigating gear. A series of erupting volcanoes required us to build rafts to flee to safety using rocks created from lava quickly cooling above ground! Safely arriving back on land, we earned our fire glyph and a giant tooth gave us a hint about our final day and ultimate adventure. 

On Day Four in Cache Dash™ we explored the science of sand storms, hurricanes and tsunamis. We generated solution ideas for changing a bicycle into an ideal sand storm vehicle for Jeremiah in Sudan, a hurricane-proof house for Eymi in Cuba and a turbo booster to get Jackson to higher ground if a tsunami were to hit Maui, Hawai’i. We each selected one of these challenges and then started building.

It sure was salty in Amazing Atlas™ today, when we visited the Dead Sea. Did you know that very salty water can make objects float? We do! Inspired by examples of how animals and plants that live in the ocean remove salt from their bodies, we invented ultimate fantasy animals to populate and bring life to the Dead Sea. 

In I Can Invent: Launchitude™ today, we filed a mock patent and marketed our Duck Chucking Devices. We are building, tweaking and preparing to test our inventions in the ultimate Duck Chuck challenge tomorrow. Lots of ducks are flying, but will they make it home?

Today in the Geo-Games™ module, we connected our ability to creatively think up and play games in new ways with our expanding power to work together in teams to play our best! Twist it, turn it, change it, play it – we got moving and had fun!

Tomorrow is…

Wear your new t-shirt!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

TOMORROW, Friday, June 3 at 2:45pm, the children will be hosting the Inventors’ Showcase program. This is their chance to show off what they’ve been busy doing this week. All family and friends are welcome and encouraged to come.

 

Day 3: Wednesday in Geo-Quest

We’re midweek into the Camp Invention program, and the fun just keeps going! We are really beginning to put what we’ve learned to good
use. Take a look at how we’ve already solved a number of problems simply by using our brains
and imaginations…

Today in Amazing Atlas™ we journeyed to the Cave of Crystals in Mexico where we experimented with acids and bases to find out how caves and crystals form. Next, we discovered the true beauty of crystals as we explored prisms and the unique rainbows they make. The highlight of the day was when we recreated the complex patterns of the crystal cave and navigated our way through the challenging obstacle course. 

Everything was shaken up in Ecoverse™ as we encountered an earthquake on Hawai`i, discovered how tectonic plates can move and found out how to read the vibrations of the Earth. We even invented our own seismoscope to make sure we won’t be caught off balance again! Our skills have been improving rapidly and today we earned the earth glyph, bringing us increasingly close to our finished petrosphere! As the day drew to a close, we uncovered a mysterious box with the stamp of the sunken ship we found yesterday. 

Today we received another treasure-filled cache in Cache Dash™! After finishing our global challenge solution designs, we went on a fun-filled scavenger hunt to find the combination to a locked cache. We opened the cache and received a new set of global challenges – this time dealing with extreme nature! We also received working motors to use in our designs.

It’s Day Three of the I Can Invent: Launchitude™ module, and we've been exploring velocity! How fast can we fling our duck? Will our duck knock down competitor duck territory? How can we reengineer their materials to create the ultimate Duck Chucking Device? We tested and retested our designs to help us think and strategize.

Today in the Geo-Games™ module, we focused on creative problem solving skills during the fun energetic games we played and explored.

Tomorrow is…

Wear your homemade grass skirt, inventor friendly beach wear and a Hawaiian shirt.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Friday at 2:45pm, the children will be hosting the Inventors’ Showcase program. This is their chance to show off what they’ve been busy doing this week. All family and friends are welcome and encouraged to come.

Day 2: Tuesday in Geo-Quest

 

It’s the second day of the Camp Invention program, and everyone is really having a blast putting his or her ideas to use. You’d be amazed at the innovative ideas they come up with in each of the modules. Each day, they continue to tap into their creativity and realize the joy of discovery through investigation. Today went a little something like this…

It’s Day Two of the Cache Dash™ and we investigated the global challenges involving traffic troubles in Paris, running out of living space in Singapore, and turning marine debris into power in Honduras. We generated potential solutions to these challenges at Idea Stations, had the chance to pick which challenge we were most interested in solving and they started building.

Today in Ecoverse™ we headed out to sea as we navigated across the ocean to find a sunken ship and studied how scientists use SONAR. Our biggest challenge today was to retrieve a message in a bottle found under the sea near the shipwreck! The message gave us a clue of where we will head tomorrow. Our oceanic odyssey earned us the water glyph for our Petrosphere Journal!

During Day Two of Amazing Atlas™, we hiked to the top of K2, the second tallest mountain in the world! We accidentally dropped our hiking supplies and built a contraption to retrieve them from the mountain ledge. We also explored center of gravity as we balanced rocks, including ones we brought in from home, to create the tallest rock towers.

During the I Can Invent III™ module, we continued taking our machines apart.  We’ll soon be using the pieces to create something new!  The younger groups worked on ideas for inventions that solve problems that bug them, while the older groups began working on their Rube Goldberg-type machines that should create a chemical reaction when finished!

In the Geo-Games™ module, we focused on Creative Problem Solving skills during the fun, energetic games we played and explored. We also practiced teamwork. We had to work together to solve some challenges which required us to practice our communication skills. 

Tomorrow is…

Mashup your wardrobe, creating wild combinations or BACKWARDS DAY! 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

FRIDAY at 2:45pm, the children will be hosting the Inventors’ Showcase program. This is their chance to show off what they’ve been busy doing this week. All family and friends are welcome and encouraged to come.

Day 1: Monday in Geo-Quest

It’s the first day of the Camp Invention program,
and we are thrilled that your child could join us for
a week of hands-on FUN! Here’s a quick snapshot
of what we did today…

In the Cache Dash™ module, we were recruited to be expedition trainees. We used outdoor treasure hunting and navigation techniques to complete a challenge course and received a clue to the location of a cache. We figured out the clue and found the cache, which contained invention challenges from youth in France, Singapore and Honduras. The cache was also filled with special technology materials to include in our solution designs!

In Ecoverse™, we embarked on our quest to explore the realms of the Earth. Today, we reached for the sky as we explored constellations and built a stellar navigation tool! We used our device to locate our Petrosphere Journals, where we will reflect, explore, and sketch their ideas and descriptions of the Earth all week long. Our achievements earned us the sky glyph! The constellation Pisces is the clue for the location of tomorrow’s quest.

The hottest place on Earth is where our Amazing Atlas™ module started. To find it, we had to locate the Sahara Desert using latitude and longitude markings on a world map. While exploring the desert, we built an insulated cover to protect our equipment from overheating. We each need to bring in one fist-sized or smaller clean rock for tomorrow’s adventures.

In the I Can Invent: Launchitude™ module, we received our week’s mission: to help a flock of international rubber ducks get home! Today, some of us began disassembling appliances to locate gadgets and gears that can be incorporated into our duck launching inventions, while others began designing. We will work together this week to build the ultimate Duck Chucking Device!

In Geo-Games™, we worked in teams while playing games based on ones that other children play from around the world! They helped us realize what kinds of things children have in common, no matter where they live.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

This Friday at 2:45pm, the children will be hosting the Inventors’ Showcase program. This is their chance to show off what they’ve been busy doing this week. All family and friends are welcome and encouraged to come.

Tomorrow is…

Don your zaniest cap or CRAZY HAIR!!!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

FRIDAY at 2:45pm, the children will be hosting the Inventors’ Showcase program. This is their chance to show off what they’ve been busy doing this week. All family and friends are welcome and encouraged to come.

Camp Invention Information

WHERE:  RIVERBEND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

                2901 Riverside Dr, Juneau, AK

WHEN:   Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 7, 2013
               9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.                

(Tues. - Friday) Doors open at 8:50 a.m.

                              CONTACT:  School phone number (907) 463-1819

                              Geoffrey Wyatt, 209-2457 or junowyatt@gmail.com

MONDAY, 6/3/13:   PLEASE come at 8:45 a.m. to confirm registration, drop off recyclables and take-apart item. 

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