DS did it at age 8 and was disappointed. He has always collected junk and made his own creations, some of them useful. That's all they did in this class. There are several different classes, but the one DS did was making something that didn't work. It was just a model. They took apart old electronics and used the casing, but not the electronics.
At age 7, I think, DS13 also felt that this was one of the worst summer camp weeks of his life for this very reason - he really had expected to make working inventions. He came close to staging a 'Gandhi - Style' sit down strike on the playground after recess on the 2nd to last day. I was so relieved with that week was over.
The camp is run by local site directors, and my guess is that the leader makes a huge difference in how the camp is run. Also, my DS7 didn't really understand about 'prototypes' at the time, and their role in the development process. He had just come off of his least-accommodated year ever, and can be rather literal.
I love hearing that other kids have loved this camp.
Grinity
