Molly Mollica

The central focus of this project is engaging UW students in accessibility-focused outreach to K-12 schools with low income students and underrepresented students in STEM. The outreach will include adapting toys for children with special needs. This involves opening a toy, examining its circuit, and adding an alternative activation switch, making it more accessible to children with diverse abilities. This added alternative activation switch makes the toys suitable for a child’s unique abilities, allowing the child to activate the toy by moving a finger, tiliting one’s head, or pushing a large button. Toy adaptation is a unique opportunity to 1) engage K-12 students (and especially students from low income families and students that are underrepresented in STEM) to hands-on, appealing activities, demonstrating positive impacts of STEM and increasing access to the UW community and STEM activities, 2) involve UW students in impactful outreach, helping them make community connections and build teaching skills, and 3) provide developmentally important toys to children with diverse needs in our community, increasing their access to developmentally important resources.