Camp Invention stokes STEM interest

SAGLE — Summer break is in full swing, but at Sagle Elementary School, kids are still learning — and having fun while they do it. 

Camp Invention, a five-day STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education event for kids between kindergarten and sixth grade, arrived in the Sandpoint area for the first time Monday. Hosted at Sagle Elementary, the camp aims to facilitate hands-on challenges for local students. 

“It really focuses on the four “Cs” of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity,” said Lynette Leonard, organizer and director of the camp and Southside Elementary librarian and STEM teacher. 

The camp is based on a program developed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and is one of more than 1,000 held across the country each year. Leonard was inspired to bring the event to North Idaho after her children participated in one of the camps elsewhere. 

This year’s camp theme, “Illuminate,” features activities including designing a light-up sports game and customizing a robotic laboratory to learn about water resources. Campers also learn about real-world processes like prototyping and intellectual property protection. 

For the first local iteration of the camp this week, 64 students signed up to participate. “We have kids from every school in the Pend Oreille district,” Leonard said. Scholarships were offered for the camp, and student volunteers from local middle schools are lending their time to help run the activities. 

Leonard has long been a proponent of STEM; in 2019, the librarian won the Idaho STEM Action Center’s INDEEDS award for K-6 education. While the kids at Camp Invention are only taking the first steps along their academic paths, Leonard is already beginning to develop their career skills. 

“When I go to conferences, I hear from employers all the time who say, ‘teach them new skills, teach them how to think outside of the box,’” said Leonard. “It’s really preparing them for future jobs that they are going to have.”