BRAYLEN’S KAPRI-1000

An EAST Project from Sonora Middle School

Goal of the Project:

Our goal is to help someone who is just like us that is facing some struggles. We want to give back to our community and make someone feel less awkward about their challenges and to show them that people care even if we are miles away from each other.

Give us your elevator pitch of the project.

Braylen is a boy who lives in Texas. His mother reached out to us through our social media and through a Friend of EAST to get in touch with us about helping her son. When Braylen was a baby, he had multiple strokes and could no longer use one of his arms. He is still a normal 12 year old boy who loves sports, especially soccer, but sometimes needs help with certain things. One of those things is opening a Capri Sun. At his soccer games, they give out Capri Suns and he doesn’t like to ask for help to open it, so we are designing a 3D printed tool that will hold the Capri Sun for him.

Who are the student project leaders (please include name, grade, and how long they have been in EAST)?

Corbin Sandy (leader) 7th grade in EAST for 6 years, Noel Rodriguez 7th grade in EAST for 2 years, Noah Hodge 7th Grade in EAST for 6 years, Dixie Stevens, Jewel Johnson in EAST for 1 year.

Where did the project idea originate?

This is a project where the family reached out to us for help. We received his mom’s message when schools shut down at the end of last year, but we knew it was something we wanted to do as soon as we could. We have all been interested in 3D printing for a while so we worked on designs and talked through ideas as a program this summer and got right to work when we were back in the classroom.

What inspired you to complete the project? If it is not complete, what inspires you to keep going?

I am inspired to finish the project because you can’t give up just when it’s hard, you have to power through. We can relate to him. We are also 12, and we also love soccer. If we can make a difference for someone, we should no matter if they go to our school, live in our town or even our state. Getting to meet people and help them is the best part of EAST.

What challenges have you encountered in trying to complete the project?

When you think about the project, it almost seems too easy. He just wants something to hold it while he puts the straw in, but when you break it down and think about why he needs help, it really becomes much more difficult than we originally thought. Our challenge was making it portable and not something that will draw attention to the fact that he needs help but also make it work for what he needs. He could ask for help from a teammate but doesn’t want to. It has also been hard learning how to use Fusion 360 software and learn how to print it. We were able to attend a student training that really helped us get going this year. Drew Wallis, at MakerMade, has been a big help in learning about what was not working with our printer and about the design process.

What success have you all experienced in the project whether involving technology or on a personal level?

It was a struggle getting the printer to work after no one used it for months and learning how to fix it and get it going again was a big moment for us. The printer has been working pretty perfectly and has not messed up any prints since. And also, just coming together after hearing his story and working as a real team has made a difference for our group and also for our program. We have a great class and everyone is involved and working on really cool stuff and that’s fun to be a part of.

How many times did you build or test your project before it became functional? If you are still building, please tell me how close you are to completing it.

We have done three different versions and we are on our fourth print. We struggled with sizing in the first few models. We checked in with Braylen to get feedback on things to change each time.

How long have you been working on the project?

When you consider that the family reached out to the EAST program last Spring, I guess it would be 8 months but really the last 8 weeks have been the most work. We couldn’t do much without being together in the classroom.

Has EAST helped you grow as a student or as a person? If yes, please give an example.

EAST has helped us grow as a student because without EAST, we would not have learned about all these problems we are very capable of solving. It provides an opportunity to look at the world and the people around you and really put a priority on others. EAST has made us look at problems in a different way. We break them down into parts and think through the problems. And, EAST has made us want to do something for others not just for ourselves.

What has the community response been to your project? Have they helped you move forward in any way?

We really haven’t shared much with our community. We will tell our story at EAST Night Out and possibly through social media but really that’s not why we do it. We just want to help Braylen be more comfortable and enjoy the things he likes doing.

What do you want people outside of EAST to know about the project?

Our biggest takeaway is that the project shows that people everywhere need help that we can provide with the technology we have in our EAST classroom and a little hard work accompanied with creative problem-solving. It gives a new idea to the term community and how we think of that. Our community is anyone we can reach through any method and we are seeing that this year like never before.