Leah Xiao-Chan O’Keefe wanted a “big kid” bike but she couldn’t shift gears or brake safely because her fingers did not extend past the first knuckle. An Ohio State University mechanical engineering professor heard Leah’s story and put two of his graduate students, both avid cyclists, on the case.

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Filed under: K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features | Comments Off on A Bike For Leah

Tags: adaptive technologies, bicycle, Design, disability, engineering technology, Ohio State University, service learning

Working in groups of three, middle school students learn about types of forces, the relationship between form and function, and the structure of the hand by working as biomedical engineers to design, build, and test their own hand “gripper” prototypes that can grasp and lift a 200 ml cup of sand.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lend A Hand: Teaching Forces

Tags: adaptive device, anatomy, assistive technology, Biomedical Engineering, Class Activities, Design, disability, forces, Grades 6-8, hand, Lesson Plan, prosthetic