Дети из Виноны создали планеты и изучили криминалистику на летнем лагере изобретателей

by ALEXANDRA RETTER Elementary students twisted pipe cleaners and foam onto a styrofoam globe while learning what’s needed for life on a planet, working together to design and think through how to set up a new place in the universe. This was one hands-on activity they completed at Camp Invention earlier this month, a national program with a goal of teaching students creative problem-solving, collaboration, innovation, persistence, and confidence. The camp for kindergartners through sixth graders is a program by the National Inventors Hall of Fame in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, collaborating with districts across the U.S. Local educators taught the program early in August at the Winona State University campus, covering topics from forensics to buoyancy. “And I’ve learned that you can always solve a problem when you think about it,” student Rosie Bloedorn said. “I really like Camp Invention because you get to build a lot of stuff and you learn stuff. But it’s not like school, because you can be as creative as you want.” Third grader Addison Hazel said she liked “being able to make stuff.” Second grader Sophie Huerta was excited to make boats and appreciated “putting things together.” In one activity, students created their own planets, determining how much air and water they would need for animal and plant life. With styrofoam globes and colorful pipe cleaners, they added landmarks like mountains to their planets. Students also learned about forensics, from the fact that DNA gets left behind as evidence to rules about not touching evidence to prevent contamination. With paper bowls and multicolor cotton balls, they made evidence collectors. Stuffed animal capybaras served as mascots, helping guide students’ investigation of fake footprints and fur. In another activity, students learned how to protect ideas for inventions by filing patents — which they practiced by filling out a faux application — and made boxes to keep ideas safe with materials such as paper plates and ketchup cups. They also made model cars with sturdy, vibrant slap bracelets and plastic wheels as a way to “roll out” their ideas, Instructor Denine Voegeli explained. Students learned about buoyancy, as well, making tinfoil boats and seeing how many washers they could put in them while still having them float. They then made larger boats using cardboard that carried paper billboards showing off inventions to solve problems in the ocean, such as a device emitting sound from surfboards to keep animals away. Students not only exercised their creative and scientific muscles but also continued growing socially. “I think the coolest thing is watching the shy ones on a Monday turn into the ones that are more confident in their collaboration with their classmates and coming up with ideas that, I mean, I would never come up with,” Voegeli said.