Something shifts at ages 5-7

Children stop waiting to be shown what to do and start wanting to figure things out themselves. Summer 2027 is designed to meet that moment.

At NORY, Inventors are encouraged to take ownership of their ideas, identify real problems, and collaborate with others, all with the guidance and encouragement of teachers who help them grow in confidence along the way.

Every weekly theme is purposefully designed to nurture a specific area of growth, helping children develop the skills and mindset of true changemakers.

See below to discover how our interdisciplinary curriculum supports development across a broad range of areas, from leadership and technical fluency to critical thinking.

The Inventors' Growth Map

Below are the 8 Growth Areas your child will develop this summer, along with the linked themes. You can click any growth area or theme icon on this theme page to explore more.

❤️ Empathetic Changemaking
Designing with heart. Inventors discover that empathy and innovation go hand-in-hand. We don't just build for fun; we build to help people, animals, and the planet.
Theme: Rescue Robotics League: Disaster Response Challenges (6/21-25)

🧠 Logic & Critical Thinking
Problem solving in action. Inventors tackle puzzles and open-ended challenges, learning to analyze the "cause-and-effect," and adjust their strategy to find the smartest solution.
Theme: Automate the World (8/30-9/3)

🤖 Technical Fluency
Speaking the language of tech. We get hands-on with sensors, circuits, and robotics. Inventors build confidence by creating machines that actually move, sense, and react to the world.
Theme: Supersized Robotic Arcade Carnival (8/2-6)

🏎️ Physics & Bodily-Kinesthetics
Physics in motion. We use our own bodies to test balance, force, and energy. We learn that machines follow the same hidden rules of physics that we do.
Themes: Sports Invention Party! (6/14-18 & 9/6-10), Woodworking Derby (7/12-16)

🤝 Collaboration & Leadership
Big projects, bigger teamwork. We move beyond working side-by-side to true collaboration. Inventors learn to listen, negotiate ideas, and lead their team to build something larger than themselves.
Themes: SimCity: City Architects (7/19-23), Fort Builders: Castle Kingdom (8/23-27)

🔎 Scientific Thinking
Question everything - then prove it. We hypothesize, test, and observe. Inventors collect evidence through hands-on experiments to uncover the hidden rules that shape our world.
Themes: Cooking & Kitchen Science (6/28-7/2), Man vs Wild: Survival Engineers (8/9-13)

🎨 Artistic Creativity
Art meets innovation. Children blend robotics, coding, and design to create expressive, interactive creations.
Theme: Robotic Music Band (7/5-9)

💡 Design Thinking
Problems are just opportunities. We equip campers with the mindset of a changemaker. By mixing empathy with critical analysis, they learn to approach every challenge as a chance to innovate.
Themes: Entrepreneurship: Lemonade Stand (7/26-30), Design Thinking Process: Product Design Studio (8/16-20)