Running around the grassy field outside of Beech Hill Elementary School, the children chucked water balloons at one another while trying to keep themselves as dry as possible by using handmade shields they carried with them into battle.
Afterwards, it was apparent that some of the shields were more effective than others as about half the children looked as if they’d just jumped out of a pool, while the other half were perfectly dry.
About three-dozen children from six different schools took part in Camp Invention, a camp affiliated with the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation.
Staying dry wasn’t the only incentive the children had when ducking and dodging water balloons being hurled their way. Those who remained the driest were awarded points to “buy” materials for a project they were working on in groups of four or five.
Each of the half-dozen or so teams had to build a land sled that could be navigated through an obstacle course featuring cones, speed bumps and water balloons being tossed by opposing teams.
The land sleds were created using materials such as duct tape, aluminum foil pans and glue, which groups could acquire by successfully competing in activities like the water balloon toss.
The Land Sled X-Treme module was one of five modules that the children participated in during the weeklong camp.
All of the modules began on the first day of camp and culminated on the last day. Each of the modules enabled the children to explore different areas of science through a series of hands-on activities, many of which required teamwork, creativity and quick thinking.
In another module, children learned about the science behind their favorite comic book heroes as they were taught about topics such as aerodynamics and Newton’s laws of motion. They also had the opportunity to test their own superhuman powers in a variety of exercises that tested their strength, reaction time and speed.

Contact Michael Tannebaum at 873-9424 ext. 215 or mtannebaum@journalscene.com