KIDS & FAMILIES

On Saturday, February 12 and Sunday, February 13 the Boston Inventgenuity Festival brings kids aged 7- 16 and their parents two days of workshops and on-going collective projects in design, building, technology, mechanics and art.

Described as “an urban Woodstock for budding young scientists, engineers, artists and dreamers” by the New York Times, The Inventgenuity Festival is presented by Beam Camp, a New Hampshire summer camp for the applied arts, technology and collaboration. The weekend will be jam-packed with a tremendous range of activities led by the imaginative and resourceful artists, engineers and big thinkers whose work with Beam campers prompted Makezine.com to call the camp “a haven for makers.”

Says Beam Co-Director Danny Kahn: “The relationship between the brilliant makers and the totally engaged and tuned-in kids is incredible. What they learn from working with each other is so important and the core of everything we do at Beam.”

At Inventgenuity, girls and boys aged 7-16 and their parents will make amazing things happen with electricity, gravity, wood, food and other materials and join in creating a signature Beam Camp Project.

For the weekend’s ongoing big Project, kids will explore the artful science of perpetual motion with Kinetic Artist Joseph Herscher as they construct one of Herscher’s gravity-defying Rube Goldberg Machines. Attendees may also sign-up for one of the rotating slate of 45-minute workshops. Among the currently scheduled presenters and workshops: Bridge Building and Light Painting by Somerville based parts and crafts; Rhythm Maker Automatons by Eun Jung (EJ) Park, the Flappet Shop by kinetic sculpture and art mechanic Steve Gerberich, and an experiment in extreme drawing called ‘The Complicater’ led by Tom Bubul.

The weekend also marks the Boston Premiere of the summer 2010’s Beam Project, A Trip To The Sun, a solar-powered film about a journey to the sun that was recently selected for entry in the Seattle Children’s Film Festival.

Boston Inventgenuity Festival takes place at The New Art Center on Saturday, February 12 and Sunday, February 13 from 11am - 5pm. Admission is free but space is limited. Required advance registration can be done at http://www.beamcamp.com/inventgenuity.

Workshop registration will take place at the Festival. There is a $5 materials charge for some workshops. No charge for the ongoing Rube Goldberg Project and some workshops. Families can also view video presentations about Beam's summer programs and learn more about summer registration.

ABOUT BEAM CAMP Beam Camp offers two 4 week summer sessions for kids aged 7-17 in Strafford, New Hampshire. Every year Beam commissions unique large-scale collaborative Projects from notable artists, architects and designers that serve as centerpieces of each Beam session. Beam Campers cultivate hands-on skills while exploring innovative thinking, design and the creative process. They swim, hike, play games and enjoy 750 acres of mountain, forests and lakes, while transforming ideas into artifacts and personal achievement into community success.