I’m writing this letter to express my thanks to the East Central Ohio Educational Service Center and to Buckeye Career Center for hosting the Camp Invention program from June 27-July 1. The folks at the Buckeye Career Center were very welcoming and accommodating. We are very grateful for their support.

The Camp Invention program is a weeklong day experience for elementary-aged children focusing on creativity, teamwork, and inventive-thinking skills. There has been much discussion recently regarding the need to better educate the next generation of professionals to fill a void in the fields of math and science. The Camp Invention program hopes to help meet that challenge by providing activities that focus on the basic principles of science, brainstorming, and teamwork.

This year, a very hard-working professional team led the activities at Camp Invention. The instructors, Ryan Burrier, Teresa Grissom, and Heather Watson, provided excellent sessions that helped the campers to problem-solve, create and discover. The counselors, Jessica Goedel, Josh Goedel, and Kylie Flickinger assisted the campers and led the lunchtime games. Junior counselors, Madison Miller, Courtney Chaney, and Shauna Cox helped the counselors with the activities. It is with this strong support for innovation, as well as an excellent curriculum that focuses on hands-on activities throughout the week, that the program provides an enriching experience for children entering grades one through six.

The Camp Invention program was created by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation and receives ongoing support from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Special thanks to American Electric Power for providing scholarship support to this program this year!

Again, I want to thank the Buckeye Career Center and I encourage parents who want to learn more information about next year’s Camp Invention to call 800-968-4332 or to visit http://www.campinvention.org.

Michelle L. Watson

Camp Invention Director