Girls Design Their Own Fun and Inventive Prosthetics

You’d be hard pressed to find a kid who wasn’t a fan of at least one superhero from comics or cartoons or movies. But what if you had the chance to be one yourself? That’s exactly thought process behind Superhero Cyborgs, a collaboration between KidMob and Autodesk, where participants with upper limb differences have the opportunity to create their own personal superhero WEARABLE device. Putting together these creations involves using the kids using their imagination, learning 3D modeling and digital fabrication, and being integral to their own design process. At this year’s workshop in January, the program unveiled two new superheroes, are mainly known as Jordan Reeves and Sydney Howard.

Jordan, age 10, now proudly sports a five nozzle glitter shooter whenever she feels like it (deemed Project Unicorn). In a phone interview, she told me that while Iron Man used to be her favorite superhero, that’s no longer the case. “Now I am,” she proudly declares, echoing her mother Jen’s wish for her to grow up empowered and know that she can do anything. “You can be as strong as you want to be, there are no limitations.” Between the influence of her mother’s encouragement and Superhero Cyborgs, it sounds like Jordan is fully onboard with this philosophy since she told me she wants to be an engineer at Autodesk when she grows up, so she too can help anoint future superheroes.

Sydney, age 12, had seen water guns at the workshop and decided that her new appendage would involve the ability to engage and win any water fight that might ensue. But what was her favorite part? “3D printing and learning how to design things and print them.” She’s hoping to go back next year and learn even more. Her mother, Andrea, also loved the experience and mentioned how incredible it felt to watch Sydney be treated like an adult and how her daughter’s ideas mattered. And does Sydney have a favorite superhero? She sure does. It’s Jordan because of Project Unicorn.

The workshop was led by Sarah O’Rourke, Autodesk’s Senior Marketing manager and Kate Ganim, KIDMob’s co-director. Autodesk hosted and sponsored the event at their Pier 9 location in San Francisco so I spoke with Sarah all about how the partnership came to be. She told me that for Autodesk, “creativity and design is in the DNA of our company and what we do.” So basically, it’s a no-brainer to take part in a project with KIDMob since they are so focused on design thinking and Autodesk possesses the tools that complement that. According to Sarah the main takeaway of the workshop is “never to look at anyone or anything as having a limitation, only as an opportunity to redefine and redesign their experience for them.”

Superhero Cyborgs is an important place for kids with limb differences to not look at their prototype projects as a prosthetic, but as a body modification. Kids are encouraged to ask themselves what they would want to create if they had no boundaries and a team of people will help build whatever they want.

So what happens next? Answering the question of how to bring the workshop to more people. But fear not, they are already brainstorming on how to make that a reality. Whether it’s creating a virtual format for classrooms or getting involved with student groups or organizations like the Girl Scouts, the plan is to figure out how this type of workshop could be done whether you’re a superhero with a limb difference or solving a problem in your community. As Sarah remarks, “the amazing thing about youth is that they’re fearless. Give them the right framework and get out of their way.”

Photos via Sarah O’Rourke