Ivy Schafer, 9, hula hoops on the grounds of Radford University during the morning kickoff of Camp Creation. The camp is part of a national program designed to engage children in science, technology and creative problem-solving. Children start their days with "Base Camp," which combines physical activity and creativity.

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Camp Creation counselor Jennifer Wood talks with her campers in the "Saving Sludge City" class at Radford University. The exercise challenged students to create a cleaner, more ecofriendly city.

Students work on "Saving Sludge City" -- a class where children used cardboard boxes, egg cartons and other recyclable materials to create an ecofriendly city -- as counselor Stephanie Cobb (foreground) in her wacky socks watches over them.

| Greg Esposito

greg.esposito@roanoke.com, 381-1675

RADFORD -- Mix 17 little kids, a bunch of balloons, scissors, tape and index cards and what do you get?

A little bit of chaos, some popped balloons and a learning opportunity for kids and teachers.

"It's a lot of fun," teacher Ashley Eanes said Thursday without a trace of sarcasm.

A long-term substitute teacher at Preston Park Elementary in Roanoke this past year, she had just finished teaching the first- and second-graders in Camp Creation about propulsion.

"There's the crying ones, the ones who have meltdowns and the ones who run and hide and do what they want to do," said Eanes, light-headed after blowing up several balloons over and over again.

The Camp Creation classes are just one group of curriculum offered by Camp Invention, a subsidiary of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation. The national program is designed to engage children in science, technology and creative problem-solving. The week of activities, hosted by Radford University, comes to an end today. A similar camp is taking place this week at Falling Branch Elementary School in Montgomery County.

Fifty children, rising first- through sixth-graders, signed up for the program. Broken into groups by age, they attend five classes each day. They learn through hands-on activities such as building miniature roller coasters, designing and building a miniature town with a focus on preventing pollution and launching a rocket ship.

Eanes spent an hour in the morning talking to the first- and second-graders about how they could use balloons to launch their rocket ships, made of cups and tape. It was part of "Problem Solving on Planet Zak," an exercise that forces students to think about ways to survive on the planet and find a way off of it.

Thursday was spent testing their ships and learning about how balloons could propel them. Today they put their rocket ships to the test. Many of the children ran around the classroom, blowing up balloons and squealing with delight when it was time to release the air from them and watch them fly. There was some crying and there were attempts to pop balloons. But Eanes focused the children's attention long enough to have a discussion about why some balloons are bigger than others and what that means for their ability to propel their ships.

Eanes, who completed her master's degree in early childhood and early childhood special education at Radford in May, said the camp has taught her about the power of hands-on learning.

"For a kindergartner to be able to tell me that air pressure is going to make that balloon go, is pretty impressive," she said. "Without the balloons I think they all would've looked at me like I was crazy."

The camps are held at sites around the country. Most hosts are elementary schools, but Jennifer Wood, a teacher at Highland Park in Roanoke and former graduate student at Radford, said just getting the kids on a college campus could help encourage them to attend college when they're older.

Radford will likely host another set of Camp Invention classes next year. To pay for materials and staff, tuition costs are $180 for the week for early sign-up with various discounts offered.

The camp is offered in partnership with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Wood was overseeing the "Saving Sludge City" class, as third- and fourth-graders pointed at maps and tried to match their designs of buildings and streets with a model they put together on the floor, using cardboard boxes, egg cartons and other recyclable materials they brought from home.

"This camp is so fun, I don't think they have any idea they're actually learning," she said.

Later Thursday morning, the same group that was building the city went down the hall to work on their roller coasters -- made out of foam and cardboard and attached to walls. Marbles served as passengers.

"It doesn't get stuck, it just isn't fast enough," said Payton Taylor, a rising fourth-grader at Mount Pleasant Elementary in Roanoke, as she tweaked the roller coaster.

But the children weren't just learning physics as they constructed and decorated their roller coasters. There were some marketing considerations to discuss, as well. And the third- and fourth-graders -- who were savvy enough to rename Sludge City to Lucky Lake City -- had some ideas.

"What do you think we should call it?" asked Ivy Schafer, a rising fourth-grader at Belle Heth Elementary in Radford. "The Whirly Whirl?"

Her teammates proposed a flashier name: The Monster Masher Scooby Doo Roller Coaster Ride. Perhaps they were hoping to generate some advertising revenue.

"Yeah," Ivy said. "And the commercial is: 'You'll love it!' "