With campers working to build catapults on Tuesday, July 7, Newtown Continuing Education Design It, Build It, Launch It camp instructor Rick Lowry said the first two-week session was starting off well.

The first session began on Monday, July 6, and runs through July 17. A second two-week sessions is slated from July 20 to 31, and enrollment is still open for the second session.

"It's fun, really fun," said camper Jett Lyons, as he worked on his catapult on Tuesday.

Mr Lowry said he began the catapult building activity by talking about the engineering project's available materials and design options.

Throughout all the projects during the camp, Mr Lowry said he will stress the importance of solving problems and improving on designs.

Other activities Mr Lowry said campers will participate in include building mousetraps, designing rockets, looking at and designing three different types of "balloon cars," and a special challenge is set for near the end of the camp. Campers will be challenged to design contraptions that can surround and protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from a high distance.

Mr Lowry said the lineup of planned activities for the second session of the camp is similar to the first session.

Camper Jesse Kinsmann agreed with Jett that the camp is "fun."

"You get to design things that you mostly don't do at home and it is different than other camps," said Jesse.

Jack Dyson, who also attended a session of the camp last year, worked on building his catapult along with his fellow campers on Tuesday.

"We really get to experiment with different things," Jack said. He added later, "You get to create what you want to, and you have the tools to do what you want."

Newtown Continuing Education intern and The College of New Jersey student Rachel DiVanno, who is majoring in teaching and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), was working with students on Tuesday along with Mr Lowry. Rachel said she was enjoying her work with the students, and she was particularly excited to have a girl camper in the group.

Camper Lizzy Gotschlich said she is interested in science as a subject, so she thought the Design It, Build It, Launch It camp was "her style." On Tuesday, as she sawed a piece of wood, she said she was right.

"This is hardcore stuff," said Lizzy, adding that the campers were not using things like popsicle sticks for materials. "We're using real wood and drills... it's fun."

The Design It, Build It, Launch It camp, according to Newtown Continuing Education, offers students in fourth through seventh grade the chance to use their hands and minds to build machines. The course uses engineering concepts, and it is geared to students who enjoy science, according to the camp's description at summersmartcampct.org.

For more information about Newtown Continuing Education's summer camp offerings or for information about enrolling a student in the second session of the Design It, Build It, Launch It camp, see summersmartcampct.org online or call Newtown Continuing Education at 203-426-1787.