Camp Invention sparks students' imaginations
Jun. 24—OTTUMWA — There were spinners to produce electricity from a battery, a jellyfish that could collect data, and gas stations on the moon.
These are all things Breanna Dehrkoop, director of Camp Invention, wants to see.
The camp wrapped up its sixth annual event Friday at Evans Middle School, as kids as young as kindergarten were introduced to various sciences with fun activity modules throughout the week.
"I heard one parent say, 'How can we make school be like this every day?'" said Dehrkoop, who has been involved all six years. "There's lots of creativity, a lot of collaboration between the kiddos. They're able to have that collaboration, and have those problem-solving skills to build upon."
The theme for this year's version was "Explore." There were four modules for groups of students titled Robotic Aquatics, Spacecation, Marble Arcade and "The Attic."
—Robotic Aquatics dealt with marine life games, where students must redesign a retrieval device to catch a fluorescent jellyfish.
—The Attic allowed students to discover the importance of the paint tube and xanthan gum inventions, and use cinematography.
—Spacecation allowed students to receive a "galactic ticket" and inventor log with an itinerary, and they had to build a space pack to carry their belongings for a vacation in space.
—Marble Arcade allowed students to investigate the relationship between an object's mass, density and motion.
Camp Invention is not solely through the Ottumwa Community School District, but the curriculum and almost all the materials are provided the National Inventors Hall of Fame in North Canton, Ohio.
The Ottumwa camp also isn't solely made up of Ottumwa students. Students from Davis County, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Pekin, Fairfield and Cardinal also attended. Overall, 119 students attended, the most in the history of the Ottumwa camp.
"So we have campers in grades K-6, and then we have kids that are in seventh, eighth or ninth grade that are in the role of 'leaders in training,'" Dehrkoop said. "Those kiddos are meeting with us every single day, and we're setting goals and we talk as a group about how we can meet those goals and sharing ideas.
"Then we have kids in grades 10-12 and college-age students, that we call 'leadership interns,'" she said. "They are in charge of organization for the week and rotate with our groups, connecting with kids and forming those relationships."
Instructors also donate their time, which Dehrkoop appreciates.
"It's really encouraging to see them come back year after year," she said. "It was a great week."
The camp was sponsored locally by John Deere Works, the Rotary Club of Ottumwa and the Ottumwa Regional Legacy Foundation. Alliant Energy also sponsored camps in Iowa and Wisconsin.
"It's just a great week of learning," Dehrkoop said.
Next year's camp is scheduled for June 19-23, and will be held at Eisenhower Elementary School. Families can pre-register at www.invent.org/camp2023, use a promotional code and save $50. The discount expires Sept. 30.
— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury
