Special-Ed Sensory Board
After discussing our ideas with the teachers at, we learned that there was an empty room that they wanted to make into a "sensory room" with different activities and fidgets for the kids to use. We were shown an example of what a sensory object would look like, which was essentially a cube with a different random object attached to each face, such as a doorknob or a light switch. At this point, the dream of the "sensory room" had not yet been brought into reality, and our club decided to change that. By the end of our project, we had built a 4x8 foot board with different sensory objects and activities.
Interactive Trail Signage
The trail signage project was one of the first projects undertaken by our club. We learned that many of the new cross-country runners at our school would get lost on their home trail, Cass Benton Park, due to insufficient signage throughout the park. So, we dedicated one of our projects to solving this issue. However, rather than simply put up signs throughout the park, we wanted to innovate upon this trail navigation system and integrate technology into our solution. Along with designing, constructing, and laser engraving maps that could be located throughout the park, our team set out to create an app that would map the user's current location onto a digital copy of our maps via a QR code located on the signs. This interactivity leads to a greater connection between the user and the signs, allowing for more effective navigation and a more enjoyable experience. By the end of the project, we had hung 20 signs throughout the park.
Cell Phone Sanitation
Most cell phones carry ten times more bacteria than a toilet seat. This simple fact came to us as a shock when we were researching ways to improve public sanitation throughout the community. We figured that rarely anybody actually sanitizes their cell phones, despite being the object that is most frequently used. Our club decided to work towards solving this issue by developing a simple device that could be located throughout the community to sanitize cell phones. After much discussion on the most efficient ways to kill bacteria, we determined that sanitizing cell phones with ultraviolet light would do the job with little-to-no maintenance while minimizing our environmental footprint. Our final concept was a simple box with slots for phones to slide into, with UV LED light strips going across the lid that would turn on when the box closes, eliminating any bacteria on the phones. After prototyping and testing our concept, we learned that it was indeed effective at killing bacteria. So, we built a final prototype and placed it in the school's main office for students and staff to use.
