Camp Invention returns to Bethel Park
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Alivia Collett, left, and Audrey Friday participate in “Open Mic” during Camp Invention at Neil Armstrong Middle School in Bethel Park.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Camp Invention instructor Maddie Tyska-Myers, a fifth-grade art teacher at Neil Armstrong Middle School, assists Ridder Greefkes with his “SolarBot” project.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Lily Spigelmyer and Hannah Watkincs work on their “SolarBot” projects.
Reese Kail shows her "Open Mic" microphone.
John Waterstram takes aim during “Duck Chuck.”
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Dominic Perez and Sofia Klassen get ready to launch their ducks.
Robotic crickets figure prominently in "SolarBot."
Violet Conroy participates in "SolarBot."
Harry Funk/The Almanac
From left are Coby Mogavero, Hans Greefkes and Everett Gallagher.
James Edward Maceo West (Photo by Sonavi Labs)
If you don’t know about him already, meet James Edward Maceo West.
Students attending Camp Invention had the opportunity to do so, in a way, by listening to a recording by the developer of the technology used in 90% of all microphones built today.
The youngsters heard the message from West, who turned 90 in February, through microphones that were made especially for the annual summer program provided by the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
During a recent week of technology-oriented education at Neil Armstrong Middle School in Bethel Park, a group of students took part in an activity called “Open Mic.”
“Jim West talked about how he identified a problem and came up with a solution, so the kids were supposed to identify a problem in their own lives and come up with a solution to it,” said instructor Laura Campus, who teaches in Jeannette City School District.
The youngsters took the type of actions that may be expected.
“A lot of them are robots to help them do chores,” Campus said. “That’s just a very common thing.”
“Open Mic City” tasks included creating prototypes, coming up with logos and jingles for marketing purposes and, at week’s end, students pitching products to their classmates. Along the way, they learned about necessities for inventors such as copyrights and patents.
Other Camp Invention subjects of study went by the kid-friendly names of “Road Rally,” “Duck Chuck” and “SolarBot,” plus the students participated in the Camp Invention Games, combining physical activity with learning how to practice communication and cooperation.
This summer marked the sixth for Bethel Park School District hosting the program.
“We did offer a virtual camp last year, and we did have a pretty good turnout,” camp director Laura Huth said. “Obviously, we have a bigger turnout this year.”
A special education teacher at Neil Armstrong, she reported 169 participants in kindergarten through sixth grade, along with 20 students in middle and high schools assisting instructors as leaders-in-training and leadership interns.
“The kids are really excited to be back for camp and working along with other children, and actually having in-person instruction from the teachers,” Huth said.
Another Neil Armstrong teacher, Maddie Tyska-Myers, led “SolarBot.”
“The kids are pretending to be in a big backyard, and they have created cricket SolarBots, which emulate a real-life cricket,” she said, adding the miniature robots are powered by sunlight or a source such as a flashlight.
One lesson addressed the importance of water conservation.
“We’re pretending that the hose is leaking and wasting water,” Tyska-Myers said, “and they’re inventing something that could potentially get the SolarBot cricket from one end of the puddle to the other so it can rescue the day by turning off the faucet.”
Another session was about protection.
“We started the day by talking about how humans wear equipment such as helmets, knee pads and elbow pads to protect them from injury or harm,” Tyska-Myers said. “They had to build an invention that would protect their SolarBots from a predator, which is called a HexBug. And they made protective gear for Battle of the Bots.”
Members of the Animal Kingdom also featured prominently in “Road Rally,” as campers learned about creatures that can adapt to their environments and then used the knowledge to “morph” the small vehicles they created into something that could meet various challenges.
Regarding “Duck Chuck,” student John Waterstram provided an overview of what he and his classmates did with miniature rubber waterfowl.
“At the beginning of the week, we got ducks and were told that we had to build contraptions to rescue ducks from a small pond,” he said. “On the underside of a duck, there was a little sticker that had a country’s flag on it, and that country was where the duck’s homeland was.”
Besides a geography lesson, the youngsters also learned about the types of ducks that are native to various parts of the world.
“On the second day, we built our launchers for the ducks,” John said about the catapult-type devices constructed for “rescue” purposes. “Yesterday, we did target practice.”
A chorus of young voices agreed hitting targets proved not to be the easiest of objectives.
But in the grand scheme of Camp Invention, Huth reported the proverbial good time had by all.
“It is teamwork that makes all of this happen,” she said. “From the support of the Bethel Park administration to the leaders-in-training/leadership interns, we couldn’t make it a success without everyone coming together and working as one unit.”
Huth also spoke of Science, Technology, Engineering Mathematics, or STEM, education as a critical component.
“It is so important to provide our students with various types of learning opportunities that will assist them in exploring these concepts and developing the skills that will be required for their future careers,” she said. “It’s never too early for children to start learning how to think creatively and problem solve.”