Camp Invention hosts 50 students at Lewis Central; students and teachers describe STEM modules and leadership roles

Camp Invention, a weeklong STEM program hosted at Lewis Central, enrolled 50 campers this summer and gave middle- and high-school students roles as leaders and interns, presenters told the Lewis Central School Board on Sept. 8.

The presentation, given by Lisa Ciesinski, who said, "I was the director last summer at Camp Invention and [am] a staff member at CREF," described the program as open to students entering second through sixth grade and aligned to state, Common Core and GSS standards.

Board members were shown student projects and heard brief descriptions of the program's four daily modules. "Students rotate through 4 modules for kind of projects each day," Ciesinski said. "Last summer, we had our highest enrollment. We had 50 campers that joined us." Stephanie Donner, a Titan Hill teacher who taught in the program, described the stations: "One of them was called illusion workshop" and another, InControl, where students made control panels and learned Morse code. She also described Penguin Launch and a Claw Arcade station used for hands-on projects.

Three students who attended the camp told the board what they enjoyed. "What I liked about it is that you get, create stuff," said Ben, a camper. Elle, a camper who showed a Morse-code device, demonstrated the program's hands-on communication exercise: "You press the buttons. One says dash and one says dot ... and then they light up." Paige Benson, who attended for a second year, described making prototypes and decorating projects and said Camp Invention is "a great place for kids that love to make stuff and be creative."

Presenters said the program charges a participation fee to families but that the National Inventors Hall of Fame supplies the curriculum, teacher training, materials and stipends for instructors. Ciesinski said the extra materials are used to restock the Titan Hills MakerSpace.

Board members thanked the presenters and the students for attending and displaying projects at the meeting.

The presentation did not include a board vote or policy action; it was scheduled as an outreach item on the agenda.