Arizona students take Engineering Beyond the Classroom to Build Mobility for Children with Disabilities

By Kyle Macdonald, COO of Silicon Oasis

Students from Chandler-based Firewheel STEM Institute are showing what STEM education can look like when technical skills are applied to real human problems.

Firewheel students recently traveled to Pennsylvania as part of the organization’s expanding Jeep Hack initiative, an effort that brings students, engineers and volunteers together to retrofit battery-powered toy vehicles for children with lower-extremity mobility challenges. The work was featured by FOX News, putting a national spotlight on an Arizona STEM program built around both engineering and service.

The concept turns an ordinary ride-on toy into an accessible mobility experience. Firewheel’s program modifies electric Jeeps with custom controls that allow children with conditions such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy to operate the vehicles more independently. Firewheel

For the students doing the work, the project is also hands-on engineering education. They must solve problems involving electronics, fabrication, controls and mechanical design while building something for an actual end user.

The event reflects how the program is beginning to extend beyond Arizona. Firewheel announced in September that it was working with Arizona State University and other partners to expand the annual Jeep Hack into three states. Firewheel

Based in Chandler, Firewheel STEM Institute focuses on expanding access to experiential STEM education, with programs spanning robotics, advanced manufacturing, 3D printing, engineering design and autonomous systems. Firewheel

That combination matters for Arizona’s technology ecosystem. Building a Silicon Oasis is not only about attracting companies or raising venture capital. It also means developing the next generation of engineers and giving young people opportunities to understand how technology can improve lives.

Firewheel students taking an Arizona-born STEM initiative across the country is a strong example of that mission in action.