TSO-F Day 7: Families Tour Midway, Help Deconstruct

Sending a child to an overnight camp that teaches the use of power tools to kids as young as 8-years-old could be a bit worrisome. Yet, as families made their way to the project build sites and were greeted with a child who is full of pride while presenting larger than themselves results, all possible worries were forgotten.

“It’s his first sleep away camp. It’s awesome,” Susan, Jake’s mom said.

Senior Tinkerer, Oliver, demonstrates the roller coaster ride for families during a tour through the fair.

Tinkerers first took their families on a tour of the seniors’ roller coaster, ticket booth and Strongman Challenge. Next, everyone made their way to the forest where the remaining midway projects were created.

First, the roller coaster slide which became a backwards roller coaster rail was demonstrated, followed by the merry-go-round and then the Pink Flamingo, a spinning zip line ride.

Junior Tinkerer, Jake, pulls himself his team’s ride in preparation for a demo ride backwards down the hill.

“There are three swings, and no grown-ups allowed because the last time it broke,” junior Tinkerer, Layla, explained to the adults noting a roughly 300 pound weight limit for the ride.

“This is a zip line, but the twist is that the cart spins,” Finn said as he climbed up the loading platform to demo the ride.

Junior Tinkerer, Sergio, takes a ride down the Pink Flamingo zip line.

In the end, parents helped their children deconstruct the creations in preparation for the next round of Tinkerers. As family members helped disassemble the rides, their takeaways were notable.

“All the projects were really cool. The ingenuity is amazing,” Suneel, Jackson’s dad said.

“I just like it because they learn new skills they wouldn’t learn anywhere else,” Tira, Sergio’s aunt added noting the evident teamwork.

Check out the photo slideshow of the last day of Tinkering School Overnight camp.