Hack This Toy!
Posted on December 13th, 2017 by Mary Lord
Like engineers in Santa’s workshop, Ohio State University students and faculty are working with families in a unique Toy Adaptation Program to “hack” popular electronic toys so that children with special needs can enjoy them.
Filed under: K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features | Comments Off on Hack This Toy!
Tags: adaptive technologies, Design, Ohio State Toy Adaptation program, special needs children, students with disabilities, toy engineering, Workshops
They grasp fingers, curl up in your palm, and break wind when their heads are squeezed. Meet Fingerlings, the cute little robotic monkeys that rocketed to the top of the toy charts this holiday season – thanks to engineers. 
Can toys inspire more kids – especially girls – to become engineers? Purdue University mechanical engineering students think so, and they are designing and building high-tech educational toys that make science and engineering fun. 
Ever walk through a store’s toy department and wonder: Who dreams up these action figures, games, and other fun stuff? Toy engineers do! They get to play for a living, designing and making new toys to engage or educate kids of all ages.
