SOUTH PORTLAND — Would the next Edison, Curie or Gates please stand up?
It just might be 11-year-old Nick Duffy, who’s going into sixth grade this fall. Monday morning he wasted no time in disassembling a laptop computer tower, and he’s already got a solid grasp of reverse engineering.
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“You start with what you have, then you take it apart so you know how to build it again,” Nick explained.
Although they’re on hiatus from regular schoolwork, Nick and 60 other young students are spending their days at Small Elementary this week at a summer camp that emphasizes fun, teamwork and hands-on science.
Camp Invention, a project of a national nonprofit organization called Invent Now, is designed for Maine students entering first through sixth grade. The camp is held at local schools nationwide, but this is the first time it has come to Maine.
Small Elementary Principal Bonnie Hicks presented the idea to her staff over the winter, but she needed someone to step forward as the director. Corinne Altham, a technology integrator at the school, took on the task.
The camp staff was rounded out with an assistant director, four teachers and several counselors and junior counselors from South Portland schools.
On Monday, Altham welcomed the campers and after some team-building exercises, she sent them off to start their modules, which have engaging themes such as “Edison’s Workshop,” “Problem Solving on Planet Zak” and “Saving Sludge City.”
In that last module, students help clean up a city that has been polluted, and one of the activities involves cleaning up a simulated landfill that is leaking toxic chemicals into groundwater.
“The first rule of Camp Invention: You must have fun,” Altham told the students. She also told them not to be concerned if their experiments don’t go right the first time.
On Monday afternoon, Altham called it a successful first day.
“I really bought into the program because of its connection to creativity. Kids don’t get to be as creative as we’d like them to be in school these days. There’s so much value in taking a risk,” she said. Altham intends to direct the program again next year.
The camp also ties in to the district’s efforts to improve teaching techniques for science, technology, engineering and math. South Portland recently received a $225,000 grant from the National Semiconductor Foundation to help in those areas at the middle school level.
Rosanna Mangini, a kindergarten teacher at Skillin Elementary, volunteered as one of the camp teachers. As the week progresses she will guide the students as they take apart common electronic devices and use the parts to build Rube Goldberg machines, which transport balls from one point to another.
“What was really neat was to see the kids working together and coming up with ideas,” said Mangini, whose son is a camper. “You can see how their brains are already thinking ahead.”
Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at: tmaxwell@pressherald.com
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