Edgewood Future Engineers Help Tykes With Mobility
WARSAW — Three tykes who needed a little help getting around got that helping hand, thanks to some innovative Warsaw Community Schools middle schoolers, an enterprising teacher and volunteers and a grant from the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.
Entering into the design phase of a project called Go Baby Go, Edgewood Middle School Project Lead The Way Teacher Abbi Richcreek explained how three teams of STEM students at the school are giving a trio of toddlers their own tricked out rides.
“We are in the process of modifying 12-volt electric cars for toddlers who move differently,” Richcreek said. “They have a physical impairment, and we want them to have the same opportunity as any other kid so they can be independent and mobile.”
Richcreek said the price for an electric wheel is often a strain on families who have youngsters with physical challenges. She added that the users quickly grow out of the devices.
“We are trying to do something that they can use right now,” she said.
The toddlers, Aurora Koher, Addy Hausman and Sara Nunez, arrived at Edgewood Middle School Thursday afternoon, April 18 for the design phase of the project. The youngsters will show off their new wheels in downtown Warsaw on May 3 during First Friday.
Tonight is the preliminary design test
“We are looking at maybe doing this annually so to do that, we’re hoping to get more sponsors,” Richcreek said. The current project was also underwritten by Dalton Foundry, Zimmer Biomet and DePuy.