Frequently Asked Questions

Innovative, STEM-focused, summer day camps for rising 1st to rising 6th graders. 

Camp FAQs

Camp Hours/Attendance:

• Exploration begins promptly at 8:30 am and ends at 3:30 pm. Drop-off and pick-up will be from the Ideaventions Science Center located in Reston. Our doors will open at 8:25 am.  After a grace period of 15 minutes, late pick-up of your child will be charged at $1/minute.
• If you know that your explorer will be late to camp or will not attend camp that day, please email your child’s leader or call the center and leave a message (703-860-8768). We want to make sure that your explorer doesn't miss out on the day's fun. There are no refunds for absences and there is no provision for make-up classes.

Health/Allergies:

• The safety and health of all Explorers is very important to us.  If Explorers have special needs or any allergies, please let us know in the registration and if necessary, please provide instructions to your child’s leader on the first day of camp or via email.
• Teachers are CPR and First Aid certified. Please let us know if your camper has special conditions we need to be aware of.
• We will notify parents in writing regarding any minor falls or scrapes during the day. If there is a head injury, Ideaventions will contact the parents immediately.​

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Lunch/Snacks:

1. Exploration can be demanding and it is important that Explorers have the energy to get them through the day.  Please ensure all campers eat a nutritious breakfast before coming to our center and they bring a snack to eat mid-morning and a nutritious bag lunch. We have a refrigerator if his/her lunch requires refrigeration.
2. Please note that we are a nut-free facility. Please pack a lunch that is nut-free as we sometimes have campers that have life-threatening allergies.
3. We provide lunch on Fridays - cheese or pepperoni pizza, drink and fruit. You may pack a lunch for your child if you do not want them to eat the lunch provided. 

What to Bring:

• Explorers should wear clothes they do not mind getting dirty, plus suitable clothes for outdoors depending on the weather that day. Please pack a change of clothes to have available just in case.
• Explorers may bring sunscreen and insect repellent. Please let us know in the registration if your explorer will require application.
• During the day, outdoor education will take place at Ideaventions.  We will monitor weather conditions for our outdoor exploration. 

Camp Checklist (please label):

• Snack
• Lunch
• Medicines (labeled & consent note with detailed instructions)
• Water bottle
• Spare change of clothes
• Sunscreen
• Insect repellent
• Appropriate clothes (hat, etc.)

Behavior:

• Explorers are expected to be helpful, courteous and to try their best at all times.  Parents please review with your campers the importance of being attentive and respectful to instructors and other Explorers during this camp so that this may be a memorable and fun experience for all. 
• ideaventions™ reserves the right to dismiss, without refund, any Explorer who is consistently disrespectful or endangers him/herself, their leaders or other Explorers due to inappropriate or unsafe conduct.

Communications:

• We will email parents the Friday before the start of camp to welcome you. This email will contain the topics for the week and the locations that we will be visiting on what day, as well as your leader's emergency contact information.
• We encourage parents to join us earlier on Friday at 3:00 pm to see some of what your Explorers have learned and created during the week. 
• Each day we will also email you a list of activities your Explorer has participated in that day. 
• Our primary goal is for Explorers to have a fun, memorable experience and share and nurture their love for science, technology and engineering. We want to offer children the opportunity to express their creativity through the multi-sensory exploration of the world, big and small. 
• If you have any other questions after reading this or before the start of camp please email us at info@ideaventions.com.