“What happens if we address a missing limb as a blank canvas rather than a disability?” That’s the question that KIDMob, a “kid-integrated design firm” non-profit, is trying to answer with creative problem solving workshops like Superhero Cyborgs. Superhero Cyborgs is a workshop for kids with and without disabilities to design and build “potential alternatives to upper limb prosthetics.”
KIDMob recently teamed up with Autodesk, a software company, to create Superhero Cyborgs 2.0, where six kids got a chance to learn about 3D modeling, digital fabrication, and 3D printing with professional designers and engineers. Wearables are often one-size and very expensive, notes GOOD, but Superhero Cyborgs 2.0 is all about making personalized and creative wearables. One 10-year-old made “an e-NABLE prosthetic with a detachable bow and arrow,” another made a splint that allowed him to attach a Nerf gun or a horse-riding attachment, and another made a “dual-water-gun arm.” Co-founder Kate Ganim told GOOD:
One of the main motivations for the work we do is exposing kids (and adults) to ‘21st-century skills’ in a meaningful way. Design is creative problem solving—it is bringing ideas to reality. Our workshops are very active, with lots of improv, hands-on making, discussion and sharing, and playful discovery.
After the workshop, each kid continues to develop their prototype with a professional designer with the support of Autodesk. KIDMob hopes to bring the workshop to classrooms in the future. If you’re in the Bay Area and you’re looking for design workshops for kids, check them out!
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