Greater Commonwealth Virtual School Students Design Prosthetics for Animals as Part of STEM Project

The Greater Commonwealth Virtual School (GCVS) is pleased to report that eighth-graders in teacher Jack Czajkowski’s science classes have designed prosthetic devices to aid injured stuffed animals as part of a project meant to build skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. 

The approximately 100 students are participating in an Engineering Design Challenge sponsored by the Wade Institute, for which they must imagine a disability experienced by an animal and then design a prosthetic device to help the animal overcome the disability.

Students came up with their own animals to work on prosthetics for, with one student designing a wheeled device to help a dog with no front legs, another designing a prosthetic tail for a dolphin, and another designing a prosthetic leg for a frog.

Students began by sketching out designs and then worked to create prototypes out of actual materials they had on hand. They then evaluated their prototypes to see how they could improve the design. 

Students then made a final presentation to the class about their projects, answering questions about their thinking and their designs. 

“The students are learning about the engineering design process and using their skills of inquiry and project-based learning to experiment with different ways of designing a prosthetic device to help a stuffed animal in need,” said Czajkowski. “Along the way, students learn about prosthetics, identifying a problem, investigating and researching proposed solutions, testing the solution, building a prototype and re-designing if necessary.”