Hand Prosthesis Projects 2015 #makerspace

This week was a major building week with the 7th grade at SJRS. We are studying bones and muscles  as part of our Human Body curriculum.

For this assignment, students were asked to create and build a prosthesis that simulated the grasp and release of the human hand, using a pull and release of one string.

The project was a challenge for most of the kids, and all had some measure of success. In the end I had the kids make a personal learning statement about what they learned about themselves in this process. All were able to say that they learned something about their ability to try something different, work with a partner, or work independently. Several mentioned that they did all of the work, while their partner watched or contributed very little, to which the partner agreed.

This project not only allows for students to understand the complexity of how bones, muscles, tendons and nerves work together to allow the human hand to grasp and release, it also provides students with experience in building something from nothing and succeeding.