High school students at MakerSpace NYC (new window)’s industrial design camp used their skills for a good cause, designing a standing desk for students with ADHD and other disabilities that have a hard time sitting for the whole day.

Inspired by a design challenge from Loreto Dumitrescu, an occupational therapist at an elementary school in Brooklyn and co-leader of the Makers Making Change NYC Metro Chapter (new window), the students worked over the course of the two-week camp in August to design and produce a low-cost solution.

“During camp, we do a bunch of different projects,” says MakerSpace NYC Education Director Assata Gonzalez. “But this was a chance to get the students involved in some real-life problem solving.”

Initially split into four groups, the students pitched different designs before working with the MakerSpace NYC fabricator to take the best ideas from each design. Then, starting with making a version out of foam, they began to prototype the standing desk.

It quickly became apparent that the backboard in the initial design could block the vision of students behind the user of the standing desk when used by a taller student. They adjusted the design so it could be more adjustable and work for a variety of different heights.

Once the students drafted the design in Fusion360 and used a CNC router to cut out a more complete prototype, they found that the top shelf of the adjustable standing desk was liable to fall down due to its size. They fixed the problem with a more curved shape to the top shelf.

By the end of the camp, the students had designed a working standing desk that can be easily assembled and is collapsible.

When the school year started, Loreto provided the desk to a fifth-grade classroom in her school to be used by students.

“It’s getting tested right now and then I’ll be able to collect some feedback, but so far it’s been really positive,” Loreto shares. “[Teachers] already see the applications of how many kids are going to be able to have flexible places to work in a classroom instead of sitting pretty much all day.”

“[The student designers] really did such an amazing job problem solving and collaborating and working together,” says Assata. “They were so excited about the standing desk because it was going to be used.”

“I can say that these kids really gave me a lot of hope for the future because it was very interesting to see how they work together and how excited they were about something that actually makes a change.”

This post originally appeared on the Makers Making Change (new window) website.