May 18, 2000
#00-31
Brigid Quinn
Maria V. Hernandez
703-305-8341
USPTO TO CO-SPONSOR CAMP INVENTION
USPTO TO CO-SPONSOR CAMP INVENTION
PRESS RELEASE
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), along with Ford Motor Company, is co-sponsoring full scholarships for Camp Invention, a week-long day camp established by the National Inventor's Hall of Fame. The scholarships will help children in socio-economically challenged neighborhoods and schools throughout the country and will be announced at a press conference at Henry Clay School in Chicago on May 19, 2000, at 10 a.m.
Camp Invention, funded in part by the USPTO, is a nationwide educational outreach program designed to give children entering grades 2 through 6 an alternative to traditional classroom experiences. Camp Invention builds on a child's innate curiosity and intuition about the way things work. Emphasis is placed on the creative process that leads to problem solving, discovery, and invention. Camp Invention's purpose is to stimulate the imaginations of America's next generation of inventors. The program is the premier educational outreach for the National Inventor's Hall of Fame.
"Camp Invention is a vital part of our ongoing educational outreach efforts," said Q. Todd Dickinson, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. "It's never too early to start teaching people about the value of intellectual property and the role of the patent and trademark system."
The camp session event will be held at Henry Clay Elementary School, located at 13231 Burley St., Chicago.
USPTO, a user fee-funded agency of the United States, within the Department of Commerce, administers laws relevant to granting patents and registering trademarks. The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office advises the Secretary of Commerce and other Federal departments and agencies on intellectual property policy matters. Over 6 million patents have been issued since the first patent in 1790. Last year USPTO issued 161,000 patents and registered 104,000 trademarks.
# # #
