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Ellis Abel Learns.

Engineering Summer Camp in Ames, IA

The Ames, IA metro area has about 128,090 residents, ranking 323rd in the country. Somewhere in it are children who would love engineering summer camp and have never been offered one within driving distance.

Ages 7-14 · For families · Iowa · Midwest

Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Ames, IA
Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Ames, IA

What the week actually is

Engineering week is constraints week. A bridge that must hold a weight, with a fixed pile of materials and a deadline. Children who have never been told no by a problem before meet one here, and learn that the answer is a redesign, not a tantrum.

Day by day

  1. Constraints and a materials budget
  2. First build, first collapse
  3. Redesign from what failed
  4. Load test to destruction, record the number
  5. Showcase: defend the design choice

Ames, IA — what applies locally

  • The Ames, IA metro area has about 128,090 residents, ranking 323rd in the country.
  • Metro area: Ames, IA
  • State: Iowa · Region: Midwest

Questions we get from Ames, IA

What do they build?
Load-bearing structures, simple machines, catapults, water filters — physical things that either work or fall over.
Is it messy?
Yes. That is not incidental.
Do they work alone or in teams?
Both. Solo build first, then a team build where they have to defend a design choice out loud.

Other camp themes in Ames

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Engineering Camp elsewhere in Iowa

Des Moines, IAMetro areaDavenport, IAMetro areaCedar Rapids, IAMetro areaIowa City, IAMetro areaWaterloo, IAMetro areaSioux City, IAMetro areaDubuque, IAMetro areaWest Des Moines, IACity

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