SETTING GUIDELINES FOR CREATING STEM PRODUCTS THAT APPEAL TO YOUNG GIRLS
Open Access
- Author:
- Gardner, Elizabeth
- Area of Honors:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Matthew B Parkinson, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Stephanie Stockar, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- design
STEM
engineering
women
child anthropometry
design guidelines
accommodation - Abstract:
- The objective of this thesis is to create psychological and physical design criteria for the development of successful engineering toys for girls. Specifically, it looks at the factors that prevent women from going into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in college and applies those findings to the design of girls’ toys. Toys were selected because of their ability to stimulate interest in young children, to teach skills that become vital to engineering success, and to reach younger age groups who are less likely to have been exposed to stereotypes that associate math and science with boys. This thesis provides background on the problem of women in STEM and why it exists. It then proposes solutions around designing educational toys for girls that promote problem solving, mathematics, and spatial skills. The toys that are most closely associated with developing these skills are construction toys, which are the focus of this thesis. The building activities involved in construction play require children to grasp and control small physical pieces. To better understand the physical needs of girls who are interacting with these STEM-related toys, this thesis uses data analysis techniques in MATLAB and Excel to examine girls’ hand anthropometry. Using anthropometric data provided by the OPEN Design Lab at the Pennsylvania State University, the ability to grasp an object is considered in detail. Recommendations based on optimal hand grip diameter are made for girls of varying ages. The benefits and limitations of this analysis are discussed and a series of recommendations is made based on its findings.