Fostering Imagination, Creativity & Invention

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
-Pablo Picasso

January 17th is Kid Inventors’ Day! A group of people developed this celebration a few years ago to recognize the achievements of the youngest inventors as well as encourage more children to be creative. The date was chosen to celebrate Benjamin Franklin. He is credited with so many inventions, but his first ones came as a child, including making the first swim flippers when he was just 12 years old. He’s a great role model for getting kids to dream and think big.

The calendar is filled with so many of these special days. Who doesn’t want to celebrate your love of Bagels and Lox on February 9 or observe Napping Day on March 12? But, this one on January 17th really reminded me of how important camp is for a child.

At Apachi J Camp, we celebrate this belief in imagination and invention in everything we do each day. We design our program to give your camper the chance to be a creative risk taker in a safe and supportive environment whether they are in the art room, sports field, STEAM lab, theater stage or swimming pool. You can see these budding inventors all over Apachi J Camps.

Campers can be heard asking these type of great questions, which can lead to their next great invention:

• How can I get the ketchup inside the hotdog to have each bite full of ketchup?
• Can I mix glitter or sand or cotton balls into the paint and make a sparkly or textured paint?
• If I add more duct tape, will my boat be stronger?
• How far back can I stand to still make a basket?
• Will closing my eyes under water make me be able to hold my breath longer?
• If I sleep with my script under my pillow, will I learn the lines by tomorrow morning?

The great thing about Apachi is that campers can explore science, art, sports, swimming, theater, cooking and more while having the space to fail and try again. There are no grades, no papers, no homework. There IS pure learning for fun and opportunity to take a chance and invent. The 7-8 weeks of camp are our Kids Inventor Months. We take the time to celebrate this EACH day campers step on to our camp grounds.

So, if you have the time to celebrate on January 17, please do. If not, know that we have this theme covered again and again at Apachi.