Circuit Board

#SustainableEngineering #DesigningWithCommunities #STEAM-Education

The Challenge

Considering the urgency of the climate crisis along with the lack of reliable transportation infrastructure in the Metro Detroit area, we investigated the following design challenge together with Detroit Community School students:

How might we change the way we think about our current transportation solutions to expand the imaginations of future generations?

What I Did

My Role: Project Facilitator & Designer

I collaborated with two other designers in creating and leading weekly activities for our group of 3-6 students. I encouraged students to embrace their creativity with the help of ideation tools, taught and oversaw woodshop skills, and facilitated conversations around sustainability, transportation, energy, as well as more personal and intentional reflections. I also assisted in the build process of the final skateboard design, which included wood, metal, and electrical circuit construction.

Project Duration

3 months

Main Stakeholders

Detroit Community School in Brightmoor, MI

Scroll through the image gallery below to learn more about my process.

Teaching and overseeing woodshop skills

I demonstrated and oversaw the use of various shop tools for students with no prior woodworking experience. Tools used were the drill press, band saw, miter saw, jigsaw, handheld drill, and hand saw.
Facilitating creative ideation

Together with group discussions about energy and transportation, we imagined new devices that could be powered by energy sources other than fuel. Some ideation activities we used: transforming random shapes into objects, and brainstorming around specific prompts / phrases.
Assisting in the build

Our students had little prior experience building prototypes, so part of my responsibility was to assist in carrying out the physical manufacturing of the device. This included wood and metal work, as well as constructing the dynamo circuit.
The final prototype

Our final invention, The Circuit Board, was a human-powered skateboard that produced light while riding and also had a compartment to store personal belongings.
Dynamo action

The light produced while riding was powered by a dynamo attached to the wheels.