Junior Schoolers Tackle Real-World Medical Design Challenge

Only a month into a new semester and junior school students just getting their start in Design & Modeling have already gotten a solid introduction to engineering. A long-standing staple in the Butler Tech class curriculum, the introductory project challenges students to solve an authentic medical challenge while working within real-world constraints.

The project asks students to design and prototype a custom ankle‑foot orthosis (AFO) for a theoretical orthotics clinic that serves people with a variety of physical needs. The device is specifically intended to support a young patient with spastic hemiplegia, a muscular disorder associated with cerebral palsy. 

Because the condition can cause the foot to drag while walking, students were tasked with designing a mechanism that would stabilize the ankle at a 90‑degree angle while ensuring comfort, durability and proper fit. The design brief specified such requirements as points of attachment, movement, placement, support and removability. It even requires that the prototype prevent the patient from pointing or rising up on their toes. 

Students are given a materials budget of $1,200, using classroom “price lists” that mimic real supply costs. Every inch of Velcro, every popsicle stick and every foot of wooden rod has an associated price. Teams must track expenditures, stay within budget, document their process, and finally present their final prototype for peer review. 

Hopewell Junior and Butler Tech Design & Modeling teacher Dale Boolton emphasizes that while the parameters and evaluation rubric are clear, the process is intentionally open‑ended.

“Students are given the guidelines and the goal of creating a prototype,” Bolton said. “Everything from there is organic and student‑driven. They have to figure it out and meet their deadline, on budget.”

He added that each team member takes on a specific role or position. They also rate other groups’ designs and evaluate their own teammates—just another way the activity mirrors real engineering collaboration.

At Ridge Junior School, a team of three seventh graders embraced the challenge head‑on. They immediately recognized that a brace offering too little support wouldn’t properly stabilize the foot.

“First we tried one strap but realized they would have to tilt their foot and they can’t do that,” Ryan Jackson explained. “We realized we had to stabilize it.”

To strengthen their design, the team decided to add popsicle sticks and later on, two wooden rods along the outer sides of the brace. The group rebuilt their prototype several times—tearing it apart and starting over whenever necessary.

“It was fun,” said Ryan’s teammate, Caden Gavigan, both with their sights set on careers in aerospace engineering. “It’s a problem in the real world and we were tasked with finding a solution. We used our brains and our hands.” 

Hopewell Junior School teammates Lameria Black and Quinn Cox both appreciate that the class revolves around building things. “I grew up building things with my dad who is an independent contractor, so it’s fun to use those skills at school,” said Lameria. Her teammate, Quinn, added that she appreciates the opportunity to work as a team rather than independently. 

The value of the project clearly extends beyond the final product and students’ enthusiasm for engineering is clear. For Boolton, that excitement is exactly the goal and he is always impressed with how students rise to the occasion and natural leaders take shape. 

Grounded in real medical needs, technical constraints and iterative design, the project gives students a glimpse into the problem‑solving side of engineering, among other professions. Through teamwork, creativity and persistence, students learn that innovation isn’t linear. It’s a cycle of ideas, trials, failures and breakthroughs.