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Ellis Abel Learns.

Engineering Summer Camp in Grand Rapids, MI

The Grand Rapids–Wyoming–Kentwood, MI metro area has about 1,183,645 residents, ranking 49th in the country. Engineering Summer Camp works the same way here as anywhere: give a child a problem too hard to guess at, then refuse to hand them the answer.

Ages 7-14 · For families · Michigan · Midwest

Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Grand Rapids, MI
Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Grand Rapids, MI

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

Grand Rapids, MI — what applies locally

  • The Grand Rapids–Wyoming–Kentwood, MI metro area has about 1,183,645 residents, ranking 49th in the country.
  • Metro area: Grand Rapids–Wyoming–Kentwood, MI
  • State: Michigan · Region: Midwest

Questions we get from Grand Rapids, MI

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 Grand Rapids

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Engineering Camp elsewhere in Michigan

Detroit, MIMetro areaLansing, MIMetro areaFlint, MIMetro areaAnn Arbor, MIMetro areaKalamazoo, MIMetro areaSaginaw, MIMetro areaMuskegon, MIMetro areaJackson, MIMetro area

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