This year, in my Project Lead The Way Class (aka PLTW), I have learned so many new things. I think it’s really cool how the class is really laid back, and we kind of do things on our own time, yet we get so much done, and learn so much. The modules we do- it’s like we are inventing and creating new things every week. We are creatively designing new things to make the world an even better place, and I think it’s really cool. I also think the new MakerSpace we’ve been granted is an amazing environment to work in, and it’s a lot of fun.

 

One of the modules I’ve worked on really stood out to me- Prosthetic limbs. This module took a little longer than the rest, because it was a bit more difficult. For this module, the first part of it was to take away an ability or limb (eyesight, leg, arm, etc.) for 5 minutes. I thought this would be something that would be really easy, but I was proved wrong.   The first time, I took away my eyesight by closing my eyes. I tried walking around the room without being able to see, but it was not easy, and a bit destructive. After that, I decided to switch to something a little easier- taking away a leg. I hopped on one leg all the way to the water fountain, and it was difficult. The purpose of this challenge was to experience what it would be like without a limb, so we could put ourselves in people with disabilities’ shoes, to make the prosthetic limb as comfortable as possible.

 

The second challenge was to actually make a prosthetic limb. We had to make a design brief, brainstorm, make a design matrix, and sketch out our final idea. We did all of those so we could come up with the best idea possible. The Design Process is very important when designing something like this.

 

Then, we starting to construct it. We used materials like plastic cups, rope, bubble wrap, styrofoam, and wooden poles. We made a cup with padding to put my knee in, the wooden pole for my leg, with two support poles around it, and rope to attach to my knee. It could stand up on its known, and it was comfortable and looked presentable. When I tried walking with it, it wasn’t the best, but that would be hard to do anyways, with some of the limitations we had. I would say for the most part it was a success. Next time, I would just try to make it walk better somehow.

The reason we made a prosthetic limb, is to try and create something that would be comfortable for people who had been in car accidents, war, and more, who no longer had a limb. The great thing about thing about this module was that not only did we learn so much, and accomplish making an actual leg at the age of 13, we made it so that in the future, we can actually make something that helps people in need.