Rise of the Cubby Buddies

Project Idea:

Magnolia, Vivian and I created a Cubby Buddy - a pull out stool from the bottom cubby for the children to step on in order to reach the top shelf of their cubby.  Because the children in the Child Study Center are young - two to five year olds - and short, our intentions were to create a device simple, easy to use, and convenient for children.  With the Cubby Buddy, children can still place their boots or shoes in their cubby without the Cubby Buddy interfering with space or inconvenience issues.

Before building the Cubby Buddy, we understood that in order to build a working Cubby Buddy, we would need to build a cubby with it.  However, we only built the bottom two sections of the cubby (for boots and coats) since we did not need the top section for anything.

We also understood that the children are top heavy, and having them kick the Cubby Buddy would reduce injuries as they would have less chance of falling over.  Kicking the Cubby Buddy would also increase and foster independence as at an early age, and they will begin learning to complete simple tasks on their own.

Week 1 & 2:

We proposed the Cubby Buddy idea and drew our ideas out on paper after visiting the Child Study Center, taking measurements and observing the children interacting with their cubby.

Week 3:

Our next step was to calculate dimensions and cost, and to research cheap materials to create our wood prototype.  In the meantime, we created a rough cardboard prototype with exact dimensions.  While waiting for materials to arrive, Magnolia wrote the code for our lights we would use for the cubby.

Week 4:

Week 4 commenced the building of our actual cubby and Cubby Buddy.  However, once we received the wood from Home Depot, we came to the grim realization that the dimensions of the wood was a little smaller than the actual dimensions and had to recalculate and scale the cubby and Cubby Buddy.  The materials we used for the cubby and Cubby Buddy were:

• Wood
• Drawer Slides (2 pieces)
• Nails (3/4 in, 2 in)
• L-Shaped Metal Supports (2 pieces)
• LED Lights (green, white)
• Arduino and Six Batteries

Week 5:

After building the cubby and Cubby Buddy, we added a button, lights, feet and top box.

The button was placed behind the Cubby Buddy in the back of the cubby.  When the Cubby Buddy was all the way in, the button would be pressed.  However when the Cubby Buddy was pulled out, the button would un-press and lights would begin to flash reminding the children to push the Cubby Buddy back.

There were two location for the lights - one on the edge of the wood above the coat section of the cubby and some behind a drawing of a person kicking the Cubby Buddy that Vivian drew hanging in the middle of the large section of the cubby.

The feet of the Cubby Buddy was a piece of wood with delrin glued to the bottom of that piece of wood.  The feet is drilled to the edge of the Cubby Buddy on the bottom so when the Cubby Buddy is pulled out, the weight of the children won't bend and mangle the drawer slides.

At the top of our cubby is a wooden box made from scrap wood that contains all the wires, Arduino, soldering board and batteries.  Ideally, with one of the cubbies in the Child Study Center, the box would be on top above the third shelf.  The children would not be able to touch the materials inside the box.

Improvements (2.0):

With more time and less restrictions for the project, we would find a way to put the green lights on the cubby without having wires and black electric tape on the cubby show.  We would also order a set of cheaper drawer slides that was said to be able to withstand more weight.

Our final model of the Cubby Buddy totaled $34 for the wood, drawer slides, soldering board, LEDs and L-shaped supports.  With more time, we could potentially find cheaper materials and cut the cost down.  With 37 cubbies in the Child Study Center, a cheaper cost increases the amount of Cubby Buddies built.

Final Thoughts:

Our Cubby Buddy will one day save many children the stress of not being able to reach the top of their cubby.  With such an invention, a simple yet practical invention, children can also learn to become more independent while kicking their Cubby Buddy and learning to push it back in once finished using it.


Now that our final project has come to an end, I am grateful for all that I have learned: coding, sautering, using the wood cutter, drilling, and most importantly, thinking outside the box.  Coming into the class late January, I would not have believed this was possible to complete in four weeks.  Upon completing this project, I am now more confident in my abilities in finishing projects that I start, and with engineering, particularly mechanical engineering.  Making this Cubby Buddy has assured me to continue engineering despite not having an engineering major at Wellesley.  With the skills I have acquired this semester, I hope to pursue and chase my dreams and continue with mechanical engineering.