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 Ritchie County, WV

Ritchie County is one of 55 counties in West Virginia. The case for engineering summer camp here is not that the area lacks camps — it is that most of them end without the child being able to explain what they made.

Ages 7-14 · For families · West Virginia · South

Engineering Summer Camp — Ellis Abel Learns STEM summer camp materials used in Ritchie County, WV

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

Ritchie County, WV — what applies locally

Ritchie County is one of 55 counties in West Virginia.
Every public school district inside Ritchie County is eligible for the district licensing terms.
State: West Virginia · Region: South

Questions we get from Ritchie County, WV

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 Ritchie County

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Engineering Camp elsewhere in West Virginia

Barbour County, WVCounty Berkeley County, WVCounty Boone County, WVCounty Braxton County, WVCounty Brooke County, WVCounty Cabell County, WVCounty Calhoun County, WVCounty Clay County, WVCounty

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