Danville’s Camp Invention promises to be out of this world

From staff reports
Published: May 16, 2008

Children who would like to spend a week exploring Mars, renovating a sculpture garden and helping rebuild a polluted town this summer can do so by signing up for Camp Invention.
More than 60,000 students participate in the program nationwide.
The program, created in 1990 by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, is designed to foster teamwork, creativity, inventive-thinking skills and science literacy. It receives support form the United States Patent and Trademark Office, according to a news release.
This year, the students will enjoy a module called “M.A.R.S.” (Moving at Rocket Speed), during which they will plan and execute a trip to Mars. The second module, “Art Park,” has them attempting to save a museum by designing a new sculpture garden to attract the public — and please the museum’s largest donor. The final module, “Saving Sludge City,” has the students planning to rebuild and clean a polluted city.
Camp Invention is open to children entering first through sixth grades and is held July 7 through July 11 at W. Townes Lea Elementary School.
Danville Public Schools sponsors Camp Invention at no tuition cost to the students, but there is a $20 registration fee that covers extra materials, daily snacks and a T-shirt for each student.
Applications, and the registration fee, are due May 23. Applications can be picked up at any Danville elementary school, by visiting the Danville Public Schools Web site at http://www.dps.k12.va.us, or by calling program director Ellen Joyce at (434) 799-6420.