Staff at Ramsey Elementary School in Monroeville last week didn't need to make efforts to get students to work on science problems.

School is out, but 42 students from the Pittsburgh area who just finished kindergarten through grade five were eager to solve problems during Camp Invention, a nationally acclaimed weeklong summer enrichment program.

Lindsay Bigos, 12, of Forest Hills, has attended Camp Invention so many times that she had to count aloud the times she has attended.

She participated last week in her fourth Camp Invention, which was her last because she will be too old next year.

Lindsay hopes to serve as a junior counselor at next year's Camp Invention because she likes to help younger children.

"Camp Invention gets our minds working a lot," Lindsay says. "It is fun and I like the stuff you learn."

Her friend, Amanda Vogel, 12, of Braddock Hills, gave Camp Invention a try after she missed the program last year because of a vacation.

The program, her first summer camp, was fun and interesting, she says.

Amanda was looking to have fun, hang out with her friends and experience something different this summer, she says.

Anthony Palmieri, 9, of Monroeville, also decided to enroll in Camp Invention for the first time because he thought it would be fun.

He said he loves the invention part of Camp Invention because he created things he otherwise would never think of making.

Science is Anthony's favorite subject, so getting a chance to work on science projects made Camp Invention a worthwhile experience for him, Anthony says.

Students created rovers to travel on Mars, made recycled art based on precise measurements and from at least seven recyclable materials and built filters to clean polluted water as some of the program's projects.

Greg Siegwarth, a Pitcairn Elementary School second-grade teacher, made time to help the students.

He says he returned for his sixth year of Camp Invention because he enjoys teaching science, seeing students who return and watching the creativity generated by the students.

Amber Caplan, an Evergreen Elementary School third-grade teacher, also enjoyed helping students at Camp Invention.

"It is amazing to see the creativity of these kids," she says.

"The kids help keep me young."

Elizabeth Beard, a Moss Side Elementary School kindergarten teacher, is looking forward to next year's program because she will move up from co-director to director.

She plans to get the word out to more teachers and students so more students will take advantage of the program.

"It is amazing how kids use their brains and their ideas," Beard says. "By the end of the week, the kids don't want to leave."

The other staff members at Camp Invention were co-director Joanna Bigos and counselors Melissa Lanyi, Katherine Bigos, Ekaterina Paramonova and Kelly Guerreri.

Paul Bigos assisted as Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia regional coordinator for the program, which is offered by Invent Now Kids, a non-profit subsidiary of National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation.