The Inventor's Camp

Summary and Camp Day outline

MM058

Day 1 Rock, Paper, Scissors-

Program Summary*:Inventing means curiosity! Leonardo da Vinci started as an artist and developed many scientific observations that he recorded in his notebooks over the course of his lifetime. Children learn about his many discoveries and try their hand at his experiments, from writing notes backwards, measuring human proportions, building a self-supporting arch bridge to building catapults. The budding inventors bring home their da Vinci designs and devices at the end of the day.

*Program content subject to change

Discussion: Inventor Introduction10 min.

Activity: Proportions Kids compare their height to their wingspan5 min.

Paper Activity: Backward Handwriting Kids use mirrors to decode and write a message backwards10 min.

Activity: daVinci's Inventions Groups match images of da Vinci's inventions with modern day working devices10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Harmonica Kids build a harmonica using paper, rubber bands and15 min. tongue depressors

Activity: Mystery Propeller Sticks Kids see how friction controls the direction a small propeller turns 10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Helicopters Kids learn to operate a Dragonfly propeller 10 min.

Activity: Self Supporting Arch bridge Kids build an arch bridge without using glue or nails15 min.

Snack

Active Game: Medieval Red Rover Teams act as the fortress walls. Kids act as projectiles when15 min. called and try to break through the fortress wall.

Discussion: Fort Building Introduction Show kids images of various fortress walls and have them describe5 min. how they worked.

Activity: Fort building Kids use blocks to build a fort that can withstand a catapult attack15 min.

Discussion: Catapult Introduction Show kids images of various catapults and have them describe how they worked5 min.

Take-Home Activity: MS Catapult Kids build & experiment with the Mad Science catapult10 min.

Activity: Catapult Strength Testing Groups use a small catapult to knock down their fortress walls 15 min.

Introduce Leonardo da Vinci, infinitely curious and most definitely creative!

1MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Day 1 Rock, Paper, Scissors-

Lunch

Activity: Rebuild the Forts Kids rebuild their fortress walls based on their recent experience10 min.

Activity: Strength Test Again Kids launch projectiles at the other groups' fortress walls20 min.

Discussion: Trebuchet Introduction Kids have to find the difference between the catapult and the trebuchet in the image10 min.

Activity: Large Flinger Provide a safety talk about the trebuchet, establish rules of play, 15 min. kids help set up the SI trebuchet

Activity: Target Practice Kids adjust the trebuchet to make distance & accuracy shots20 min.

Snack

Activity: Fort Shot Kids build and knock down a fortress with the SI trebuchet20 min.

Activity: Balloon Flinger Teams use a large water balloon catapult to attempt a target accuracy challenge20 min.

Take-Home Activity: Indoor Flinger Kids launch small vinyl flingers at a target10 min.

Activity: Hidden pictures Groups search for images hidden in the pictures 15 min.

Paper Activity: da Vinci Creations Kids think up da Vinci inspired creations and draw them on paper10 min.

Drawing Take-Homes: Pre-made & Self-Made TH: Branded Take-Homes:

Backward Handwriting Dragonfly helicopter Catapultda Vinci Creation Harmonica

Indoor flinger

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Rock, Paper, Scissors

2MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Day 2 - Whiz Kids

Program Summary*:Inventing means practicality! Inventions and patents to protect an invention were very popular in the late 1800s. Inventors Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were locked in several battles over electrical inventions of their era. Children work together to form circuits and recreate Tesla's bright atmosphere for the 1893 World's Fair. They talk about sound and learn that anyone, a child, woman or man, can be an inventor. The class moves from simple devices to Rube Goldberg devices and the children perform as parts of a complex human-machine. The children prepare a patent proposal and receive a patent certificate at the end of the camp day.

*Program content subject to change

Discussion: Introduction of Inventor Introduce Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, their10 min. practical inventions and the patent wars

Discussion: The Telephone Discussion of how Bell's devices to help the deaf evolved into the telephone. 5 min. Explanation of how Edison perfected the telephone and made it practical to build and use

Take-Home Activity: Kids assemble a mini amplifier by attaching a paper clip to a paper funnelPaper Phonograph10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Talking Tapes Kids amplify the sound on a grooved ribbon with their paper phonograph5 min.

Take-Home Activity: Bell’s Inventions Kids build structures from tetrahedral shapes15 min.

Activity: Snap Circuit Fun Kids learn how electricity works by snapping together a set of circuits25 min.

Take-Home Activity: MS Circuit Maze Kids build the Mad Science Circuit Maze15 min.

Snack

Discussion: Light Bulbs Impact of Edison's perfected light bulb, impact of Tesla's fluorescent bulbs5 min.

Activity: World's Fair Kids assemble circuits with batteries and light bulbs to recreate the strings of20 min. lights that lit up the 1893 World's Fair

Take-Home Activity: Kids make a Scientist-At-Work door signScience Lab Sign10 min.

Activity: Who Invented It? Kids guess which inventions were created by a woman, man, or child10 min.

Activity: Red light Green light game Patents aren't so easy to get; instructor is the patent office and calls out20 min. red light green light and the kid who arrives "gets" the patent certificate

Take-Home Activity: Explain energy with mini poppers and Spring ThingsPotential & Kinetic Energy 10 min.

3MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Lunch

Activity: Simple Machines Volunteers act as simple machines & kids play mime game 15 min.

Discussion: Explain energy with mini poppers and Spring ThingsIntroduce Rube Goldberg 5 min.

Discussion: Planning the Mayhem Groups discuss how to build a Rube Goldberg device with given materials10 min.

Activity: Rube Goldberg Project Groups create a complicated machine to complete an assigned simple task45 min. Activity: Invention Show Rube Goldberg invention presentation & clean up20 min.

Snack

Activity: Human Machine Kids work together to form a human complicated machine20 min.

Paper Activity: Patent Proposal Kids provide a list of functions their invention does that merits getting a patent15 min.

Discussion: Certificates Presentation of patent certificates to each child10 min.

Drawing Take-Homes: Pre-made & Self-Made TH: Branded Take-Homes:

Patent Proposal & Science Lab Stickers/Sign Spring Thing Certificate Talking Tape & Circuit Maze

Paper PhonographTetrahedral structureMini Popper

Day 2 - Whiz Kids

Whiz KidsWhiz KidsWhiz Kids

4MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Day 3 – Shipwrecked

Program Summary*:Inventing means necessity! Archimedes and Benjamin Franklin both created devices to make their society function smoother. This day puts children on a deserted island in which they must work together to invent a means for collecting food and water, build shelters, bridges, and learn about density. They use the tools at hand to write messages to send in a bottle and witness a volcanic eruption. The children eventually design a boat to escape the island and bring it home.

*Program content subject to change

Discussion: Introduction of Inventor 10 min.

Discussion: Shipwreck Story Kids are to imagine being stuck on a deserted island with a trunk of materials 5 min. to help them survive

Take-Home Activity: Shelter Building Kids create shelters from trunk materials20 min.

Activity: Shelter Testing Shelters undergo "destructive testing"15 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids write (&sign) a message in a bottle to “throw” into the oceanMessage in a Bottle 10 min.

Activity: Ocean Currents Kids mimic horizontal surface currents and vertical thermohaline currents as15 min. they pass messages in a bottle Snack

Take-Home Activity: Paper Cups Kids fold a usable origami paper cup15 min.

Activity: Water Well Kids create the Archimedes screw to pump water out of the container 15 min. Activity: Bucket Brigade Kids use their paper cups and the water well to fill a reservoir with water25 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids build a dart launcher and try to knock “food” targets with their dart launchersLaunch for Lunch 20 min.

Introduce Ben Franklin & Archimedes - inventors whose devices are now a necessity

5MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Drawing Take-Homes: Pre-made & Self-Made TH: Branded Take-Homes:

Island Adventure story Shelter MS ExperiTube Origami paper cup Message in a bottle

BridgeSail BoatLauncher

Day 3 – ShipwreckedLunch

Activity: Spectacular Volcano Perform a Mentos® & diet soda fountain10 min.

Active Game: Shipwrecked Kids perform an action when the instructor calls out a part of the boat20 min.

Take-Home Activity: Bridge Building Kids create a bridge to span the "river" from trunk materials 20 min.

Activity: Bridge Testing Kids test bridges for strength1 5min.

Activity: Eureka! Kids balance objects out of the water and then compare them underwater20 min.

Snack

Discussion: Ernest Shackleton Story Tell the story of how Ernest Shackleton and his first mate built a boat to find help5min after his South Pole expedition team got stranded on Antarctica

Activity: Sail Boats Kids create sailboats to get off the island20 min.

Activity: Boat Testing Kids add weights to their boats for a strength test10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids make fans to blow their ships across the waterFans & Sail Boats 15 min.

Paper Activity: Island Adventure Kids draw/write a story about being marooned on and getting off a deserted island10 min.

Shipwrecked Shipwrecked Shipwrecked

6MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Day 4 – Think FastProgram Summary*:Inventing means cooperation! Orville and Wilbur Wright worked together to develop the first self-controlled motorized flying machine. Their team efforts also lead to improved bicycle pedals and faster sleds. Children review technological advances in flight and work together to produce improved paper plane designs. They will work as a group to put historical flight events in chronological order. The children then step into space by launching self-built rockets and loading a payload capsule puzzle. These flight fanatics go home with a squadron of paper airplanes for further test flights.*Program content subject to change

Discussion: Introduction of Inventor 10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids recreate the Wright brothers' first experiments - they need to make Slippery Sledding the fastest sled for a flannel board-snow hill20 min.

Activity: Pedals Kids revisit Wright brothers' invention - reverse thread screws for pedals - 10 min. they compare standard screw threads to pedal screw threads

Paper Activity: New Transportation Have kids design a super bicycle, scooter or skateboard20 min.

Activity: Fun with Bernoulli Kids use ping pong balls and funnels to learn Bernoulli's principle15 min.

Snack

Optional Take-Home Activity: Kids make and fly a paper blimp (tumblewing)Tumblewing the Spinning Blimp 10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids fold a straight-flying paper airplaneTrapezoid Paper Airplane 10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids fold a Delta Dart with paper and aluminum foil. They then compare Tinfoil Airplane Glider the flights of the two airplanes10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids fold a looping (boomerang style) paper airplaneThe Champ Airplane 10 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids make their own planesAirplane Creation 15 min.

Activity: Airplane Fun Run a competition for the longest flying, most accurate landing, and25 min. furthest distance paper airplanes

Introduce the inventors of flight from hot air balloons to the airplane to space ships

7MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Lunch

Active Game: Hot Air Balloon Race Kids relay race while balancing a bean bag on their head25 min.

Take-Home Activity: Kids build stomp rocketsStomp Rocket Building20 min.

Activity: Stomp Rocket Blast-off Kids launch their stomp rockets10 min.

Active Game: Operation Air Launch Kids test various stomp rockets outdoors20 min.

Snack

Discussion: Dawn of a new Era Kids design their future space vacation5 min.

Paper Activity: Space Capsule Design Kids build a space capsule to launch on their stomp rocket10 min.

Activity: Payload Packaging Kids fit tangrams into a space payload capsule image15 min.

Activity: Chute! Kids walk through an obstacle course while acting as a parachute15 min.

Paper Activity: Kids design their future space vacationWhat I did next summer 20 min.

Activity: Human Flight Fanatics Kids rearrange cards depicting the timeline of human flight15 min.

Drawing Take-Homes: Pre-made & Self-Made TH: Branded Take-Homes:

What I did next summer Sled Air BlasterNew transportation machineTinfoil airplane gliderPaper airplanesPaper stomp rocketSpace Capsule Design

Day 4 – Think Fast

Think FastThink FastThink Fast

8MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Day 5 – Science Fiction

Program Summary*:Inventing means dreaming! Jules Verne and Isaac Asimov wrote about things that would be available in the future. These science fiction writers developed the reality of their current technology into future possibilities. The children develop submarines that rise or sink, wind-up space stations, and design safety capsules for payloads returning from space. They follow a telecommunications timeline and develop one for transportation. The children decipher fact from fiction and play a future-based bingo game. These future inventors get a lesson on lasers, build a light stick and work on protecting a space ship from damaging space rays. The camp wraps up with a robotic relay and the children take home dreams of the future and new planets to explore.

*Program content subject to change

Discussion: Introduction of Inventor10 min. wrote about how humans would live in the future

Activity: Raising Raisins Based on Jules Verne's idea of a submarine, kids create subs that rise and sink 10 min.

Activity: Sub Stations Kids design three types of submarines to move at different depths20 min.

Discussion: Yesterday & Today Kids follow a timeline talk about the future15 min.

Activity: Fact or Fiction Quiz Instructor shows ordinary items, tells an advanced technology story based on 15 min. that item and kids determine if the story is fact or fiction

Snack

Activity: Future Bingo Kids play a bingo game based on technology activities and devices15 min.

Activity: Sci-fi from today game Groups pick an everyday object or subject & design/present a sci-fi modification15 min.

Discussion: Star Wars Technology Instructor describes science fiction movie laser weapons and then explains5 min. what a real laser does and what a real saber does

Take-Home Activity: Kids make a Mad Science light stickMad Science Light Stick25 min.

Activity: Saber Dance Kids learn some choreographed light stick handling moves20 min.

Introduction of Inventors - Jules Verne & Isaac Asimov dreamt of and then

9MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Lunch

Activity: Robot Relay Kids participate in an assembly line relay race to build futuristic images using bingo chips20 min.

Demo: Laser Lessons Explain the difference between a real laser light and a fictional laser weapon,15 min. instructor shows what laser light looks like

Activity: Protection Filters Kids learn how filters block light rays15 min.

Take-Home Activity: Ray Shielding Kids try to protect their spaceship from radiation20 min.

Snack

Demo: Piezo Popper Instructor demonstrates how a spark can launch a rocket5 min.

Activity: Gone with Gravity Kids model microgravity in a spaceship15 min.

Demo: What goes up must come down Instructor explains why space capsules land in the water (to cushion the impact) 10 min. Paper Activity: Design a Space Station Kids draw their idea of a space station20 min.

Take-Home Activity: Wind-up Space Station Kids build a space station that simulates artificial gravity 20 min.

Paper Activity: New Worlds Kids draw what life could be like on another planet10 min.

Drawing Take-Homes: Pre-made & Self-Made TH: Branded Take-Homes:

Design a Space Station Light stick Glow Card Futuristic Transportation Wind-up space stationNew Worlds

Day 5 – Science Fiction

Science FictionScience FictionScience Fiction

10MM058 - Eureka Summary and Camp Day Outline

Contact Information

MM058