The Children's Museum of Klamath Falls

To:                   Prof. David Culler

From:               Alex Mitchell, Evan Roberts

Date:               4-19-2010

RE:                  Children’s Museum of Klamath Falls Project Proposal

Introduction and Background

            The Children’s Museum of Klamath Falls is a not-for-profit learning center located in Klamath Falls, Oregon.  The Museum provides a safe, fun, and educational play environment for children of all backgrounds in the Klamath Basin.  Many of the Museum’s toys and exhibits are geared towards developing the “engineering” or spatial brain of children.  There is a dedicated toddler area, and other areas are given to travel and transportation (a model railroad, among other things), “Our Town” which features pieces of a town (fire station, dentist’s office, etc.), and “experimentation stations”.  There is also currently a series of toys there on loan from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).

            As a not-for-profit organization, the Museum relies largely on donated time and materials for crafting exhibits.  For this project, the museum has partnered with students in Oregon Institute of Technology’s MET 415 Design Project class, made up of junior- and senior-level students in the Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Technology Department.  The students are donating their time as community service and OIT is offering the class resource fee to be used to partially fund what the students design and build.

Project Criteria & Deliverables

            The Museum is seeking to install a series of interactive exhibits, designed and built by OIT engineering students, that focuses on showcasing basic engineering and scientific principles to young children.  First and foremost, any exhibits constructed must be essentially child-proof and inherently safe; child safety is of the utmost importance.  By extension all exhibits must be tough and durable with no sharp edges or other cut/poke hazards.  Any exhibits using electricity must be rendered inherently safe through the use of battery-powered low-voltage DC circuitry.  Small moving/removable parts can be swallowed or just plain lost and should be avoided.

            Drawings should include 2-D drawings with specifications, a 3D solid model and an assembly drawing.  The prototype exhibit is likely to become the actual finished product because of the one-unit nature of the production run.  A successful final product will be safe, durable, educational and fun to use.

Proposed Solution

            The OIT team has selected a “wire loop game” as the basis for its project.  This game promotes hand-eye coordination and teaches a basic understanding of electric current.  The device consists of a long piece of relatively stiff, conductive wire wound into a series of loops, twists and turns.  A conductive, bare metal probe is attached around the wire loop and connected to a flexible, insulated wire.  These elements make up one side of a simple DC circuit; when the probe touches the wire loop, the circuit is completed and a buzzer sounds or a light flashes.  The wire loop can be designed such that the probe can’t be removed, and must be guided from an insulated “safe zone” at one end of the loop all the way to another safe zone at the other end.  The goal of the game is to guide the probe through the twists and turns without contacting the wire.

            The game console will probably be constructed of wood for durability, with a Plexiglas top so that the inner workings of the toy can be seen by the users.  A series of simple foil-relay devices could be employed to add alternate light/sound effects, and the relays would be visible during operation through the viewing window.  Small captions could be included, detailing some of the inner workings of the circuit.

            Power would be supplied by a low-voltage DC battery, probably a replaceable 9V for durability and longevity.  Lights would be LEDs for long life, durability and low heat output.

Task/Work Breakdown and Gantt Chart

            Stage 1 of the project comprises developing a project website, a project description and formal written proposal, along with customer/needs analysis and engineering design process and theory descriptions.

            Stage 2 of the project involves generating a final concept/idea and a drawings package, along with a bill of materials and at the end of the stage, a prototype model

            Stage 3 of the project is the build stage; the project will be constructed (or prototype modified to final product), installed on-site, and tested for functionality.

            A final project report will be submitted on Thursday June 3 2010.