This open-ended design project requires the use of a general fabrication shop or, at a minimum, an assortment of hand and power tools to support students’ designs and material choices.

• a wide variety of construction and fastener materials for device fabrication, such as woods, plastics, metals, cardboard, foam core board, fabric, string, rope, nails, screws, nuts and bolts, staples, grommets, clamps, needles and thread, Velcro, zip ties
• an assortment of fabrication tools to work with the materials, such as tape measures, scissors, duct tape, adhesives, twine, hammers, screwdrivers, drill/bits, sewing machine, hand/power saws
• a few pairs of crutches, one per group is ideal
• scale, for measuring weight up to ~5 pounds
• depending on the tools used, ear and eye protection
• computers with Internet access, for research

Note: To scale down for elementary-level students, have them create simple devices designed to hold small, lightweight objects using the most basic materials such as cardboard and tape.