Byron-Bergen’s eighth grade technology students experienced design and product development skills by creating a manufacturing enterprise and choosing a stress relief project to make as a class project.
Guided by their teacher Jay Wolcott, students brainstormed ideas, made cardboard models of their designs, and created working prototypes to test. As a result of their research, the product the students selected to make and then donate to the Ronald McDonald House was a wooden back massager.
This annual project provides students the opportunity to do something nice for others while experiencing first-hand the manufacturing process such as how an assembly line works. The students were able to produce 130 back massagers and as a reward for a job well done, they received a massager as “pay.” They were excited to donate the remaining 90 back massagers, especially at this holiday season, to the Ronald McDonald House.
In a letter to the Ronald McDonald House a student wrote, “We have made a device people can use to relieve stress. Thank you for accepting this back massager as a gift from the Byron-Bergen 8th grade technology class.” The manager of the Ronald McDonald House wrote back to the students and said, “The house guests loved the product that was made for them and appreciated their thoughtfulness.”
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