Accessible Ball Maze
By Gupta, Twinkle; Swanson, Julianna; Zimmerman, Amanda; Goldberg, Richard; Caves, Kevin; NSF 2005 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons With Disabilities, pp. 76-77Publication Date: 2005
Description of a wheelchair-accessible outdoor ball maze for a two-year-old boy with arthrogryposis. Developed at the Department of Biomedical Engineering of Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering, the Accessible Ball Maze uses golf balls enclosed in a clear Plexiglas housing. Caregivers load a 50-ball-capacity hopper in the top of the device with colored golf balls. The client or his playmates can release one ball at a time by pulling on a rope. An L-shaped wooden rod added at the top of the maze can be used to jiggle loose any stuck balls. Once released, a ball travels randomly through the maze along ramps, staircases, ringing pipes and other components chosen to provide a fun auditory and visual experience. At the bottom of the maze, the ball lands on an inclined piece of sheet metal and rolls to a collection bin, an easily removable drawer that can be used to return the balls to the top hopper. The maze is permanently installed in the playground of an early intervention center, where the client attends pre-school. Cost of parts for the maze was approximately $440.
Published by: Creative Learning Press, Inc. (Website:http://www.creativelearningpress.com)
ISBN: 1-931280-03-7
