Design Nature

In their first year, all Olin students take this introduction to mechanical design and prototyping. In the class, students design and engineer a toy that captures the wonder of nature in a fun way – with an audience of real fourth graders from a local school as their audience.

A photo of a man using a giraffe head to play a game

In Design Nature students complete individual and team projects in a studio environment where we seek to develop a shared practice and understanding of engineering design. Projects include mechanisms that hop, swim, and climb.

Scenes from Design Nature

A photo of five students holding a large giraffe toy

A photo of four students smiling while standing next to a tall blue tube

A photo of five students standing behind a medium sized white rock

A photo of four students standing in a row each holding a piece of a chameleon toy they built

A photo of two students standing next to web that they built and are explaining to children

A photo of a group of college students playing with fifth graders from a local elementary school

A photo of a college student explaining a toy to two fifth graders

A photo of two young girls playing a game with a giraffe neck and head

A photo of two young boys where spider legs on their backs as part of a game