Camp Invention

In one room, students constructed radio telescopes; in another - taking a certain room in the house - they re-created a crime scene. Although school was out for CSRA children, Camp Invention was keeping their brains sharp. The weeklong camp based at the RPSEC provided 107 first through sixth-graders with activities that fostered creativity, teamwork and inventive-thinking skills.

Split up by age and grade level so that the curriculum adapts to their needs, the students rotated through five modules every day, grasping the concepts of core subjects such as math and science, camp director John Hutchens said. Throughout the week at camp, students designed and built methods of transportation for futuristic travel, used forensic science to determine “whodunit” while investigating a crime scene, built three-dimensional structures with tape and cardboard, use critical thinking to solve problems, and took apart an old household item (such as a VCR or laptop) with hopes of inventing something new from the old.
“ They learned about parts and how those parts work,” Hutchens said. “And then they put together something new.”

Students in 47 states attended various Camp Invention events in 2007. This was the RPSEC’s 4th year hosting Camp Invention.

Summer Library Programs

The Ruth Patrick Science Education Center and the Aiken-Bamberg-Barnwell-Edgefield Regional Library System partnered this summer to deliver hands-on animal programs to the public libraries in Johnston, Denmak, Bamberg, Blackville, Williston, North Augusta, Wagener, and Edgefield. Students of all ages had an opportunity to observe and interact with live animals including salamandes, frogs, toads, turtles, snakes, an American alligator, and a barred owl. A total of 728 participants attended these programs.