Media Advisory: Aptos Middle School students build prosthetic hands for children

Posted Date

Media Advisory: Aptos Middle School students build prosthetic hands for children

Press release

What

A group of seventh grade students at Aptos Middle School are using a 3D printer in their school's Makerspace to create prosthetic hands for children who have lost a hand due to war or an accident, or who were born with only one hand.

When/Where

Thursday, May 24, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Aptos Middle School / 105 Aptos Ave.

Media, please RSVP to Laura Dudnick at dudnickl@sfusd.edu

Why

Through the global organization Enabling the Future, Aptos Middle School students are applying for a certificate to build hands that will ultimately be donated to children. Thus far the students have successfully completed one hand. Enabling the Future provides a template for volunteers to use 3D printers and design skills to create prosthetic hands for those in need. Prosthetic limbs can cost thousands of dollars, and as children grow, they need new limbs more often. The hands that Aptos students are making can print up for $20 and be shipped all over the world. It takes about 20 hours to print the entire hand and up to a week for the students to assemble them.

Audio/Visual

The group of 8-10 seventh-grade students will demonstrate how they use a 3D printer in the school's Makerspace to build the approximately 25 pieces of a prosthetic hand.

About Aptos' Makerspace

The Aptos Makerspace began in 2015 and grew from the SFUSD Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) initiative. It teaches students to use tools and materials to solve the design problems of everyday life and prepares the pathway for students who may be interested in high school Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. The Aptos Makerspace is funded in part by the Salesforce Middle School Principal's Innovation Fund, the Daniel Tanner Foundation and the Aptos Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association.

Page updated on 05/23/18