Designing a Mars rover and all the equipment necessary for a three-year spaceflight to Mars are among the activities that Bethlehem area children will explore at the Camp Invention program this summer. Created in 1990 by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, with support from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the non-profit Camp Invention outreach program develops creativity, teamwork, problem-solving skills and a passion for science in children entering grades one through six.

In the Bethlehem area, Camp Invention will be hosted by Northampton Community College at their Main Campus on August 11-15 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The program will be directed by Carrie Hirschman, and taught by local educators. The program features a low staff-child ratio, with one staff member for every eight children.

Children will participate in five exciting, hands-on classes each day. In addition to becoming the first Mars explorers, they will work together to save a polluted city by rebuilding it using eco-friendly techniques, and design a sculpture garden that highlights motion, balance, and meaning. An all-time favorite module, I Can Invent™, will feature new activities, including a team Rube Goldberg challenge for older campers.

Camp Invention was featured in the September 2006 issue of Child magazine as a program that fosters the current “hands-on, minds-on” philosophy of leading educators. Due to its innovative approach to learning, it has also been highlighted on National Public Radio’s Science Friday and in a recent Harvard Family Research Project by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Camp Invention is sponsored in this region by Motorola Foundation and Rohm and Haas Company. For more information, or to register, visit www.campinvention.org or call 800-968-4332.