Elizabethtown College Engineering students used their skills and ingenuity to give back to the local community this holiday season, adapting toys to be universally accessible for children living with disabilities.
Sponsored by Etown’s School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) and the College’s student-run Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Holiday Toy Hack-a-Thon took place in early December with a total of five toys being hacked by students. Toys included two musical school buses, a musical stuffed dinosaur toy, and two bubble blower machines.
“It’s great to think some children who aren’t able to use typical off-the-shelf toys will now have a holiday gift they’re able to use without any trouble,” Elizabethtown College SWE President Natalie Barlow ’24 said. “It’s for a great cause and I enjoyed the work everyone put into it.”
Each toy was originally activated using a button. Four student volunteers disassembled each item, found its circuit, and wired a new accessible activation switch. They then reassembled the toys to make them look brand new.
Etown’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) connected the School of ECS with Aaron’s Acres, a nonprofit located in Lancaster that offers recreational activities for children with disabilities.
“Some of our participants are unable to play with certain toys because they need modifications or accommodations due to limited ability with their fine motor skills,” Executive Director of Aaron’s Acres Risa Paskoff said. “By having Etown students create these accommodations, typical play among siblings can occur — something that many of us take for granted.”
The initiative provided a valuable service-learning opportunity for Etown’s Engineering students.
“The Holiday Hack-A-Thon gave the community a glimpse of the human-centered design process that is central to the learning culture in the School of Engineering and Computer Science,” Elizabethtown College Lecturer in Physics Judson Wagner said.
