Editor’s Note: This story is part of a summertime series featuring youth camps in Orange County.
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Curious elementary school-aged kids are experiencing fun, hands-on adventures led by local educators at Camp Invention in the Capistrano Unified School District, part of a summer program operated by the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
At the start of each weekly session, campers sign “the innovator’s promise,” agreeing to “use my imagination, be brave and try new ideas, look for challenges and opportunities, push past barriers, know that my ideas have value, and know that I am trusted.”
The weeklong STEAM-themed camp, held in the multipurpose room and various classrooms at Ladera Ranch Middle School, “aims to spark creativity and challenge kids through problem-solving exercises where they explore science, technology, engineering and art by using teamwork to overcome innovative challenges,” said Camp Director Tiffany Quinn, who serves as the camp’s leader at various schools throughout Capistrano Unified.
This summer, kids are attending Camp Invention sessions at Ladera Ranch Middle School, Arroyo Vista School in Rancho Santa Margarita and Kinoshita Elementary School in San Juan Capistrano.
Each of the camp’s instructors is a CUSD employee during the school year, “who is passionate about inspiring creativity, innovation, and hands-on learning for students of all interests and abilities,” said Quinn.
During a recent session at Ladera Ranch Middle School, campers collaborated in groups on hands-on challenges that required them to become creators, innovators and entrepreneurs as the groups rotated between several classrooms throughout the day, tackling various STEAM-themed challenges.
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For “Let’s Glow,” campers sit in a blacklight-lit classroom building their own customized, illuminated glow boxes to learn about and observe bioluminescence.
Using gold foil and blue paint to personalize his box, Camper Fenn Boone, 7, said the project was his favorite part of the camp so far and was excited to take home his creation.
“Operation: Hydrodrop” had the campers creating their own environmental sample processors, or “labs-in-a-can,” so they could test various water samples as they explored water-based technology and designed their own sustainable tiny houses.
Sports-minded kids got the chance to design and create their own equipment during the “In the Game” class, where campers investigated the science of ball design while learning about physics concepts such as potential and kinetic energy.
Siblings Kate Andrew, 9, and Luke Andrew, 7, of Ladera Ranch talk to each other through pretend megaphones they created at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Camp Invention campers sit together in a blacklight-lit classroom at Ladera Ranch Middle School as they work on creating glow boxes in the “Let’s Glow” class, learning about bioluminescence, at the week-long camp in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cora Butterfield, 6, of Ladera Ranch works on creating a glow box in the “Let’s Glow” class, learning about bioluminescence, at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ellie Schaeffer, 5, of Ladera Ranch uses a pipette to deposit a drop of water on her “environmental sample processor” in the “Operation: Hydrodrop” class at Camp Invention, held at Ladera Ranch Middle School, in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Camp Counselor Emma Lee, left, helps Daisy Butterfield, 9, with one of her creations in the “Prototyping Studio” class at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Joelle McLatcher, 9, of Ladera Ranch works on creating a cardboard pinball machine in the “In the Game” class at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Syon Sheth, 10, of Ladera Ranch uses duct tape to create a golf club in the “In the Game” class at Camp Invention, held at Ladera Ranch Middle School, in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Aanya Bhayani, 10, of Ladera Ranch works on creating a glow box in the “Let’s Glow” class, while learning about bioluminescence in a blacklight lit classroom, at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Aanya Bhayani, 10, of Ladera Ranch works on creating a glow box in the “Let’s Glow” class, while learning about bioluminescence in a blacklight lit classroom, at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Luke Andrew, 7, of Ladera Ranch works on creating a cardboard pinball machine in the “In the Game” class at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Scarlett Jackson, 6, of Ladera Ranch uses a pipette to deposit a drop of water on her “environmental sample processor” in the “Operation: Hydrodrop” class at Camp Invention, held at Ladera Ranch Middle School, in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cora Butterfield, 6, of Ladera Ranch works on creating a glow box in the “Let’s Glow” class, while learning about bioluminescence in a blacklight lit classroom, at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ellie Schaeffer, 5, of Ladera Ranch uses a pipette to deposit a drop of water on her “environmental sample processor” in the “Operation: Hydrodrop” class at Camp Invention, held at Ladera Ranch Middle School, in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Kate Andrew, 9, of Ladera Ranch talks through a pretend megaphone she made at Camp Invention in Ladera Ranch on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Campers also used cardboard, plastic cups, popsicle sticks, and whatever other materials they could find to create their own pinball machines.
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More information can be found at: invent.org/programs/camp-invention