SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - For District 186 students, Camp Invention is the perfect way to spend the summer learning and developing a love of science. 

Camp Invention is a national program inspired by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and sponsored by the U.S. Patent Office. Students who finished the school year in grades first through fourth got the chance to learn how to experience a week of new experiments. 

"This camp is like a spark, and it keeps kids really interested in the learning process," said Cindy Crow, Camp Invention Director from District 186. " There have been parents every year who have said to me, 'When my kids got home from camp, they started collecting all these random things in our house to start making a new invention.'" 

Daily activities range from problem-solving, re-designing common objects and answering questions that have inspired inventors to discover new things. 

A fun addition for the students is their connection to older students, who serve as mentors or camp counselors for the kids. 

"I've liked guiding the kids to build things because they're really brilliant kids," said Destini Moody, Springfield High School student and intern. "They are such amazing engineers, and they ask so many questions. I don't think they do that in another setting as well."

A favorite activity for many of the kids was designing working claw machines. The kids used cardboard and string to raise and lower the homemade claw. 

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