Load-bearing structures, simple machines, catapults, water filters — physical things that either work or fall over.

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.

Engineering Summer Camp in Christiansburg, VA

Parents in Christiansburg, VA book summer in February and regret it in July. Christiansburg is one of the cities the Blacksburg–Christiansburg–Radford, VA metro area is officially named after. What separates a week worth repeating is whether the child was ever genuinely stuck and then unstuck.

Ages 7-14 · For families · Virginia · South

Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Christiansburg, VA

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

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

Christiansburg, VA — what applies locally

Christiansburg is one of the cities the Blacksburg–Christiansburg–Radford, VA metro area is officially named after.
Metro area: Blacksburg–Christiansburg–Radford, VA
State: Virginia · Region: South

Questions we get from Christiansburg, VA

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 Christiansburg

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Engineering Camp elsewhere in Virginia

Arlington, VACity Arlington, VACity Alexandria, VACity Norfolk, VACity Newport News, VACity Radford, VACity Stuarts Draft, VACity Virginia Beach, VAMetro area

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