Summer Invention Club Success for Hamilton-Wenham

     Even though it is the height of summer vacation, 65 elementary students were excited to be at the Cutler Elementary School last week.  They entered the school on Monday carrying broken electronic items, cardboard tubes, and bags of recyclable items.  By Friday, they had become teams of designers, inventors and model makers at Club Invention. 

     In it’s first year in the two towns, Club Invention was a collaboration between the non-profit organization, by the same name and the Hamilton Wenham Regional School District.  Assistant Superintendent Celeste Bowler liked the way the program aligned well with the district’s goal of innovative instruction through a focus on creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.   The program includes the week-long summer program offered and a separate after-school program.

    Hamilton-Wenham teachers Nichole Gray, Kali Renyolds, Kathy O’Shea, Vanessa Reid, and Courney Cooney coordinated the camp and facilitated the daily classes called modules.   Local high school students, Emily Dearborn, Jack Leary, Mackenzie Leary, and Cat Howley also assisted by leading the student groups.  

     In the Super Go module, students built small cars testing different methods of propulsion.  After a few test runs, some students made modifications to create faster cars while others added creative design elements.    

     N’deye Brady-Diouck, a 4th grader at Cutler, enjoyed the Take Apart classes where she could see what was inside different electronics and then use the parts to build new inventions.   Her mother, Meg Brady, commented the creativity seemed to gain momentum throughout the week as students tested, discussed and modified their inventions.  Many of the electronic parts were upcycled to create working homemade PINBUG machines and invention prototypes.

     James Ostrowski, a 3rd grader at Winthrop, used his creativity to develop a friend phone.   Using a different disk for each friend, the phone remembered all your important numbers.  His parents loved the way he brains was working.

    Owen Bailey, a Buker 5th grader, discovered he had a gene that allowed him to taste a strong bitter flavor during Amplified: a module created to help children explore the 5 senses.   Students also saw the inner workings of the human ear, how our eyes and brain work to create vision, and the importance of feeling receptors in our sense of touch.

     When asked to pick his favorite part, Jack Savage a 2nd grader from the Pinegrove School in Rowley said,  “There were too many good things to choose.”   His sentiments were shared by Buker 4th grader, Lucy Barlett who described the week in one simple word, “Awesome!”