CHARLOTTE -- From blowing up plastic pyramids to building their own parks, hundreds of kids in Charlotte are staying busy at Camp Invention this summer.
The program partners with Read to Achieve, so these students spend the mornings improving their literacy skills and then the afternoons are filled with STEM projects where they can explore and learn on their own.
"We don't see what it looks like until you have a chance with a program like this over the summer where the teacher really is there alongside, and the kids are driving the learning. They're asking the questions and you're just creating opportunities for kids to be creative,” said Wayne Fisher, the director of elementary science for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Teachers say one of the best parts of the camp is the schools get to keep the materials.
"There's over 100,000, probably 200,000, worth of materials between the 12 sites that stays at the school,” said Fisher.
It means future students can use these tools to learn science, technology, engineering and math skills in a new way.