Raising the Bin: Engineering Students Design Accessible Toy Bins for Children's Mercy

Students from Julie Conrad's Engineering class at Shawnee Mission South are making toys at Children's Mercy Hospital more accessible. This semester, Conrad's students were presented with a problem: the toy bins at Children's Mercy are so deep that patients, caregivers, and volunteers aren't able to easily reach the supplies. Students were asked to help design and develop a mobile, high-capacity bin that is more accessible while working within the safety guidelines outlined by Children's Mercy staff. After weeks of research, data collection, and development, students presented their final prototypes to the Children's Mercy team. 

"I am incredibly proud of the students and the way they represented our program," shared Conrad. "This was a great experience for our students and a meaningful collaboration with Children’s Mercy. It was also the first time [Children's Mercy] had worked with students from the metro in this capacity, and it was exciting to be part of that connection."

Conrad says that Children's Mercy plans to take the student prototypes and ideas to their maintenance department to evaluate feasibility, including cost and effectiveness. 

"They will be using the students’ ideas as they continue to move forward," said Conrad. "Which is a great example of the real-world impact of this work."