Prompt: Design and prototype a wearable device that helps you empathize with the way that animals navigate the world.

Part 1: Research

Chose your favorite animal (there are some interesting animals in the "tools" tab of this assignment) and sketch four interesting characteristics about how your animal interacts with their environment. Use the following questions to guide you:

How does your animal... 

1. communicate with other animals?

2. move through their physical environment/habitat?

3. use sensory inputs (i.e. hearing, touch, smell...)

4. accomplish daily tasks for survival (i.e. shelter-making, food acquisition, etc.)

You can find information about different animals on the National Geographic website

Upload a picture of your animal and your four sketches to google slides.

Part 2: Brainstorming

Design a wearable device that helps humans interact with the environment in the same way that your animal does. Consider the following questions:

1. How can your device build empathy for the animal?

2. Which of the 5 senses would you engage with your device? 

3. What part of the body will your device attach to? 

Make a sketch of your design that includes labels and notes, and upload your sketch to your google slideshow. You can use the attached figure template to draw your design in chrome canvas.

Part 3: Build!

Using recycled materials that you find around your home, build a prototype of your design. It does not have to be fully functional (this is a conceptual prototype) it just has to tell the story of your design. Get creative! Yellow construction paper can represent light beams, tin foil can represent gems, a plastic bottle can represent water or glass...the sky is the limit!

Deliverables: Make sure you upload images of your animal inspiration, your sketches, and your prototype to the google slideshow attached to this assignment.