This summer, SJHS Director of IT and FabLab teacher Mr. Matthew Mobijohn went to camp! At Camp Invention, a K-4th grade summer camp developed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and hosted by St. Bernadette’s Catholic Academy in Dyker Heights, Mr. Mobijohn taught the “Take Apart” class. In this class, kids bring in old electronics from home – watches, phones, radios, DVD players and more – and they learn how to take them apart and understand what they find inside. In addition to safety-first procedures, the class introduces kids to basic tools such as screwdrivers, pliers and wrenches, and teaches them the basics of circuitry using a battery, wires and a light.
One of the most exciting moments for Mr. Mobijohn was when a little girl, taking apart a DVD player, found a motor inside and thought of hooking it up to the battery. When the motor started spinning, she was amazed, and her amazement was contagious; soon all the kids were searching for motors in their devices and using them to add on to the projects they were building. Mr. Mobijohn was blown away by the lack of fear of the children as they tried new things and tested out their new knowledge and skills.
“Activities like the Take Apart class at Camp Invention are crucial for education because they teach students how to discover innovative new pathways through obstacles they encounter. The innocence and curiosity of the kids at Camp Invention – their energy, excitement, and sense of wonder as they came to understand the ways the world works, and their capacity to simply and fully embrace and love what they are doing, brings me back to SJHS with the desire to seek out and target the inner child in his students here. This year, I hope to help his students rediscover their latent curiosity, and inspire in them the fearless pursuit of what fascinates them in the world.”
Mr. Matthew Mobijohn, Director of Information Technology and FabLab Teacher