Sinquefield Invention Campus

Our mission is to facilitate hands-on education and invention of new ideas and technologies while utilizing problem-solving skills, creativity and imagination in a team environment.

The Sinquefield Invention Campus is a permanent facility at a Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation.

The Sinquefield Invention Campus consists of 4 areas: Invention Lab, Program Building, Metalworking Building, & the Skills and Trades Building. Each area has a different focus. The Invention Lab is focused on technology & inventing. It consists of a 6,000 sq ft makerspace. It also consists of high-tech equipment such as laser engravers, 3D Printers, computerized embroidery machines, & more! The Program Building is focused on woodworking. Inside the Program Building is a full woodworking shop with all essential woodworking hand and power tools & a 5 x 8ft CNC Router. The Metalworking Building is a full blacksmithing & welding shop, consisting of multiple forges, a power hammer, knifer sanders, & multiple welders. The Skills and Trades Building focuses on trades such as electricity/electronics, plumbing, automotive maintenance, and a sheet metal shop.

In addition to the Invention Campus, the Great Rivers Council has 2 mobile Invention Labs that can be taken anywhere in the Council.

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First of its Kind Facility Overlooks Lake of the Ozarks from Blufftop at Camp

Sitting on a blufftop overlooking the Lake at the 44 mile marker, this 6000 square foot facility will provide Scouts and students from across Missouri the opportunity to work with technology and become inventors and entrepreneurs for life.

The Invention Lab currently houses laptop computers, 3D printers, laser engravers, CNC routers, embroidery machines, Scan-n-Cut machines, littleBits, soldering equipment, and a program building featuring wood working tools and materials. More equipment including vinyl printers and multimedia software will be added later. In addition, the lab offers instruction on leadership, business, creativity, and sustainability. In the summer of 2019, the Sinquefield Blacksmithing and Welding Building was built, which includes forges and welding equipment.

The inspiration behind this project began in 2012, when three scouters invented Chess2Go; a chess set that can fit in your pocket. Chess2Go is now sold across the nation. Wishing to foster more innovation with fun, Scout Leader Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield sought to create a Scouting program centered around inventorship and entrepreneurship. The Invention Scouts is now that program.

“We want to help scouts, students, and adults to make their ideas come to life,” says founder Dr. Sinquefield.  “Becoming an inventor and an entrepreneur is so much more than just technology. It’s also about understanding business, manufacturing and production, leadership, marketing, creativity, and most importantly how we can use what we learn to serve the community.”

With its opening, the Great Rivers Council (GRC) becomes the first council in the Boy Scouts of America to own and operate an Invention Lab. Merit badge instruction currently includes entrepreneurship, inventing, woodwork, radio, engineering, game design, electronics, sustainability, model design and building, sculpture, and graphic arts.

The newly built Invention Lab will serve as the flagship of Invention Scouts, and will provide Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers, Explorers, students, and adults across Missouri the opportunity to utilize the facility.

GRC is the first council to have Invention Scouts, a pilot program designed to inspire scouts to become inventors and entrepreneurs for life. It is coeducational, so young men and women ages 11-21 can join, and no prior scouting experience is required.

Drew Wood, the Invention Lab’s First Summer Camp Director said, “In the lab we provide the opportunity for Scouts to use equipment they may have never seen before. We give them time to use their creative juices to design and create brand new things. They are challenged through merit badge requirements and competitions.”

“In schools is it popular to push for STEM, and for kids to learn those are facts. The Invention Lab is more than that; creativity and innovation will never go away. This is a timeless program which makes it super cool for Scouts” past Camp Program Director Daniel Wright said.

Sustainability is another theme of The Lab. GRC used many recyclable materials for its completion. The tables are repurposed restaurant furniture. The work tables were made from wood leftover from the construction.

You can learn more about Invention Scouts at InventionScouts.org.

Sinquefield Metalworking Building
Sinquefield Metalworking Building

For any questions about Invention Scouts or the Labs, please contact Travis Campbell at 573-449-2561 x210