Spring Saturday SAVY, Week 2, Biomedical Engineering (1st-2nd)
Dear Families,
Our SAVY Superstars had a great 2nd session of Biomedical Engineering! On Saturday, they learned that part of a biomedical engineer’s job is to collect and analyze data. Our young engineers were hired by “Fast Feet Shoe Company” to collect data about the arches of people’s feet. The company requested help from our team of biomedical engineers, so they could develop models of running shoes that would prevent injuries and keep runners comfortable. Students learned about parts of the human foot and observed how the foot moves when running or jogging. They also conducted the “wet footprint test” to evaluate arch heights. After conducting the test, students placed the results in order from lowest arch to highest arch, and then they categorized the results into high, medium, and low arches. They used this data to determine that the shoe company should make 3 models of running shoes with varying degrees of arch support and then wrote a letter to the company to share their findings.
In the afternoon, students further discussed careers in biomedical engineering and began learning about the range of motion. They made their own goniometers, which are instruments commonly used to measure range of motion. They used the goniometers to test and record range of motion that a healthy knee allows.
Next week, we will compare goniometer readings of a healthy knee with those of a model of an injured knee. Students will use this information and the engineering design process to design knee braces for the model of the injured knee. Materials that will be available include cardboard, craft foam, cotton fabric, Velcro, paperclips, pipe cleaners, string, brass fasteners, rubber bands, craft sticks, and paper clips. Talk with your budding engineer about ideas they have for their knee brace design. We can’t wait to see what they produce next week!
~ Ms. Davidson (Instructor) & Ms. Liz (Classroom Assistant)
