基拉山腰, a first-year student in 宾州州立银行' Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology program, 帮助一个高中生焊接过程.
WYOMISSING,爸爸. -在今年秋天的一次独特合作中, 宾州州立银行 engineering students in the college’s Futures in Engineering: Role-models Can Empower (FiERCE) student organization worked with the 博克斯 County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) 和 area high school students to adapt toys to be more accessible for local special needs children.
包容性工程
十大正规赌博平台大全伯克学院的工程专业学生是凶猛的成员, a student organization in which engineering students mentor middle- 和 high-school students, 与高中生会面，检查他们计划改造的玩具. The students worked with three button-activated toys: a singing chicken that lays eggs, 一只会发光的企鹅和一只会打鼓的“动物”,布偶的角色.
小组对玩具及其功能进行了解构和分析, then brainstormed ways to make them more accessible to children who are unable to use their fine motor skills to squeeze the button that activates the toy. 高中生们提出了解决方案, 由赌博平台大全的学生指导设计和执行.
让玩具更容易接近, 高中生们逆向设计了嵌入玩具中的电子设备. They developed a second parallel operating control outside of the toy that could be activated via a much larger button that was easier for children to operate with minimal effort.
之后，高中和猛的学生建立了设计标准, 宾州州立银行 students created 3D-printed prototypes of the new button design. 基于原型, molds were created to mass produce parts while others were 3D printed at the 博克斯 LaunchBox, an innovation hub of 宾州州立银行 located in the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in downtown 阅读.
“在十大正规赌博平台大全的伯克, we are really focused on creating a community where DEIB practices are integrated into our programs,玛丽埃塔·斯坎伦说, 工程副教授, chair of the 机电工程技术 (EMET) program 和 faculty adviser for FiERCE. “这个项目是将这些想法付诸行动的一个很好的例子. It allowed us to extend the idea of the importance of inclusivity 和 empathy in engineering to not only our students, 但对下一代学生来说.”
High school students wired the new buttons to the toys with guidance from the FiERCE students.
“这个项目中我最喜欢的部分是与孩子们互动,基拉·科里说, EMET专业一年级学生. “It’s been great to mentor them 和 help fully actualize their ideas 和 concepts through the entire process.”
查克•斯特里克, 赌博平台大全的工程助理教学教授, explained that the students had two previous sessions dealing with component design, 装配前的零件测试和小规模生产.
A 宾州州立银行 student assembles one of the accessible buttons after a high school student has finished soldering the mechanics. 这里看到的白色和紫色房屋是在博克斯发射箱上3D打印的.
回馈社会
Once these toys are completed, they will be gifted to special needs students throughout 博克斯 County. The team has made dozens of toys more accessible 和 will be distributing the first batch to students in the Antietam School District, 哪个国家在夏天发生了灾难性的洪水. 其他的玩具将会被赠送给BCIU的学生, 以及双谷的学生和米夫林州长, 这个项目的试点学校. These schools were selected because they had established STEM programs that were already working with BCIU.
宾州州立银行 students 和 faculty stressed the both the mentoring 和 service aspects of the project.
“Our students are breaking down an intimidating topic 和 helping these kids feel more comfortable with it,斯坎伦说. “They’re not doing the work for them but allowing them to build their experience.”
机械工程专业三年级学生卢卡斯·霍尔(Lucas Hall)对此表示赞同.
“我们正在帮助这些高中生建立他们的STEM技能，”霍尔说. “我真的很喜欢看他们从头到尾处理这个项目."
其他学生, 比如EMET专业三年级学生尼克·希尔, 说他明确地寻求通过课程来支持社区的方法.
“Dr. Scanlon mentioned the FiERCE program to me when I had her for first-year seminar, 我觉得这是我回馈社会的好方法,他说.
尼克•霍尔, 她是赌博平台大全EMET专业的三年级学生, 协助一个高中生焊接过程.
与BCIU合作
这个项目是由Katie Kehm发起的, BCIU的程序管理员, who was introduced to the idea when visiting the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit.
“I had seen these students adapting tools for special needs students 和 I loved the idea,Kehm说. “我有科学背景, so I brought in some colleagues with special education backgrounds to see what we could do.”
科琳里奥斯, BCIU的教育顾问，Kehm的同事, 以前和斯特里克一起工作过吗. 在一起, they created a team with representatives from 宾州州立银行 和 the BCIU to brighten special needs students’ holidays.
The BCIU students also played an important role in this project, the advisers said. While 宾州州立银行 students oversaw the high school students’ soldering 和 assembly work, BCIU学生协助测试, 缝纫, 为玩具装袋和贴标签，准备分发.
Once the buttons were assembled 和 the toys tested, BCIU students packaged them for delivery.
Dr. 玛丽埃塔斯坎伦
Dr. 玛丽埃塔斯坎伦, Lecturer of Engineering 和 Director of the Penn State 首页work 热线 at 宾州州立银行
