NORTON - A sailor building a golf course with the pope usually sounds like the premise for a bad joke.
But it was ``crazy hat day'' at Camp Invention at Norton Middle School on Wednesday, and the hat-bedecked children were using their imaginations to build a golf course that tested the concept of probability.
``You get to do a lot of experiments here,'' Josh Hodson, 11, said. ``That's what is good about this program. You're learning, and it's fun.''
Hodson and his two partners, 9-year-olds Stephen Hritsko and Jonathan Galik, showcased their golf course made from construction paper, Popsicle sticks and paper plates and cups. Galik said that golfers can hit the ball up the hill either through a windmill or around it to get to the hole.
Camp Invention is a daytime summer camp that the National Inventors Hall of Fame holds at sites across the country every year. In five days of intuitive learning, children in first through sixth grade explore concepts in science, math, history and the arts.
``These projects are hands-on,'' Norton teacher Thomas Conte said. ``We show the kids the overall project, and they can take it wherever they want to go.''
The instructors in the program are usually local elementary and middle school teachers trained by the hall of fame. The curriculum in each program meets state and federal education standards.
``There is a national science crisis out there,'' said Michele Setzer, elementary programming director for the hall of fame. ``Elementary schools are crying for programs like this.''
The hall of fame in Akron started Camp Invention program in 1990. Now more than 850 Camp Invention sites are in 47 states. ``Slowly, we've expanded across the country, and here we are now,'' Setzer said.
Some of the camps are free, and others cost $209, depending on funding. Six camps in the Akron area are funded by the GAR Foundation.
The camp has been a big success for the nonprofit invention group, accounting for 59 percent of its yearly income.
Camp Invention offers three curricula among which to choose: Explore, Encounter and Imagine. Norton's curriculum is part of the Encounter program and covered probability, sea exploration and outdoor survival. The other two programs cover subjects such as astronomy, physics and forensic science.
The Akron area is home to 17 Camp Invention programs in June and July. Parents can register their children at the Camp Invention Web site, www.campinvention.org. |
