Granger Middle School welcomed a new pond-pal to its STEM Plus classroom: Charlie the Duck. Over the next month, the one-footed 19-week-old waterfowl will receive life-changing support from the students.
“So with the STEM Plus class, we teach what’s called the design process, which is very similar to the scientific method that you would have in a science class. It’s a six-step method for solving real-world problems. So we brought this problem to that class where they can use their design process and develop a prosthetic foot for this duck,” said Doug Drmolka, Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher at Granger Middle School.
Charlie the Duck loses his foot
Charlie was born on Drmolka’s farm from one of his female ducks. Not long after breaking from the eggshell, Drmolka discovered Charlie had lost one of his feet.
Following a suggestion from his wife, he asked his STEM Plus students if they would be interested in creating a prosthetic foot for Charlie…a challenge they happily accepted.
“I’m most excited about how successful this will go because if this goes really successful, this could be great. You know, we get to help a duck, we get to make it swim better, make it walk better, make it do all the things that it naturally gets to do,” said Adam Juma, a STEM Plus student.
Granger Middle School STEM Plus students work on a prosthetic foot
Drmolka introduced the project to the students last Wednesday. They began discussing the design process and generating concepts for the prosthetic foot. A week later, the students met Charlie for the first time.
“So we took a lot of different measurements like height, length width, diameter, circumference, and all those kinds of things that we need for the duck leg. Even for the normal leg, we measured how far each toe was apart, so we could get the exact same measurements on the other leg. So when we try it on our first try, it should be like a first success,” said Arnav Arcot, a STEM Plus student.
Throughout the next few weeks, students will continue developing their concepts, deciding how to mold the prosthetic leg, what materials to use, and finally building a prototype, before finalizing the end product.
Though helping their new feathered friend will be a laborious task, Dromolka believes his students can help Charlie get back up on his feet.
“What I try to instill in all my students and try to teach them is that if they have a passion and a focus and a desire to achieve something in their life, they will be able to achieve it,” said Drmolka.
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