Summer camps provide students with fun and engaging activities where new friendships and great memories are made. Camp Invention, hosted at Montverde Academy for two weeks this summer, is a nationally acclaimed summer program developed in 1990 where Science Technology Engineering and Math, or STEM, concepts come to life. Camps are led by local teachers and tap into students’ natural curiosity, giving them the opportunity to become innovators through teamwork and immersive, hands-on creative problem-solving.
The Academy welcomed more than 80 Camp Invention campers from kindergarten through sixth grade who participated in the four day camp of rigorous programs of STEM-related activities to learn creative problem-solving skills while coding and programming futuristic robots, uncovering ancient fossils, designing high-tech superhero gadgets, and exploring radio frequencies. Campers include a group of students visiting from Beijing, China. The draw for the students was to integrate and meet American students and learn from American standards in STEM.
“This camp offered young minds an exciting, challenging, creative, and educational way to unleash their inner inventors,” said Jonathan Stalma, Camp Invention director and MVA Upper School teacher. “We used Camp Invention programs, Supercharged and Launch, to teach collaboration, build confidence and encourage creativity. Hands-on activities transformed their wild imaginations into epic creations by taking risks, wiring circuits, solving problems, coding and programming, exploring radio frequencies, and more.”
The week concluded with a visit from Congressman Daniel Webster. “It was great to be at Montverde Academy today,” said Rep. Webster. “The Academy’s mission is clear in everything they do. Camp Invention is another example of their dedication to equipping the next generation for success. It was encouraging and inspiring to see so many young people engage in creative activities and programs that provide the skills and knowledge to be successful innovators in today’s 21st Century economy.”
