By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

Pollution, space travel, technology.

Those are just some of the challenges adults face every day. But according to one local teacher, the solutions could come from the minds of children.

Camp Invention is one place those big ideas could pop up. The week-long camp starts July 28 at Crowder College’s campuses in Webb City, Neosho and Cassville, and takes children through five different hands-on classes a day in a way that inspires the innovator in each attendee.

“I think we’ve got a lot of issues that need to be solved, and it could come from minds we didn’t think of,” said Heidi Gilligan, director of Camp Invention and an education instructor at Crowder’s Webb City campus. “I think it could be like, ‘Why didn’t we try this?’ I’m looking forward to seeing what the kids come up with.”

The camp’s theme this year is “Imagine” and will feature activities like “Save Sludge City” where the children have to clean up and rebuild a polluted city, “Art Park” where the children create sculptures out of recycled items, and “M.A.R.S.” where students plan a trip to Mars including preparing for liftoff, designing a space ship and outlining activities while on the planet.

Campers will also spend part of the week inventing an original device that attempts to solve a real-life problem they encounter using a broken mechanical device from home (like an old DVD player, computer or typewriter).

“When my son did it, he made a game-playing device that would keep his little brother away from it,” Gilligan said. “A lot of it is in their imaginations, but it’s all about encouraging creativity.”

Camp Invention was started in 1990 by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation with support from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This is the third year Crowder has held the program.

“Many times in a formal school setting, you have to get curriculum in and there are certain things you have to cover, so the extras don’t always happen,” Gilligan said. “This (camp) is one of those extras. It’s a fun way to learn in a relaxing environment.”

Details

Camp Invention will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. July 28 through Aug. 1 at the Crowder College campuses in Webb City, Neosho and Cassville. The camp is for children entering grades 1 through 6. The cost is $205 a child, but scholarship money has been donated by Jarden Consumer Solutions in Neosho and is available by calling Heidi Gilligan at (417) 850-5213. For more information on Camp Invention, visit the national Web site at www.campinvention.org/.