More than 40 students from grades 1 to 6 attended the week long Camp Invention program at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North from June 26-30. Students enjoyed a variety of full day coordinated activities during the week in which they were encouraged to expand their mindsets to include exploration, tinkering, making, testing, recreating, and hands-on fun. Campers were taught and inspired by four science teachers who were engaged in the dynamic pursuit of cultivating the next generation of innovators.
I have been involved with the program for six years, both as an instructor and as camp director. I ran the camp program at Timberlane Middle School while teaching in the Hopewell Valley Regional School district, and suggested the camp would be a great fit for West Windsor-Plainsboro when I joined the faculty at Grover three years ago.
This is the third year the Camp Invention program has partnered with our district’s community education department. This year the camp faculty included Grover faculty members Gene Buck, sixth grade science teacher, Kim Hoeflinger, eighth grade science and math teacher, and Julia Giordano, eight grade science and technology teacher.
They were assisted by six student leadership interns from local high schools who volunteered their time to work with the campers throughout the week’s program. Our wonderful hardworking leadership interns included: Arooj Agha, Andrew Kemeklis and Avital Shnaider from WW-P High School North; Jonathan Lin from Princeton High School; and Justin Caylo and Sindhu Anala from Hightstown High School.
The camp’s curriculum was developed by some of our nation’s most brilliant minds, including experienced educators, inductees in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and members of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Our campers completed four age-appropriate, energetic and fun-filled modules that incorporate science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities, which empower students to be more creative thinkers and further inspire them to innovate and solve problems. For more information on the National Inventors Hall of Fame and associated camp programs, please go to invent.org.
—Steve Per
Per is an eighth grade science teacher at Thomas Grover Middle School.
