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Locker 3000

By slang | S Design a new school locker

Overview Instructions

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That thin metal box at school where you cram all your stuff? Lockers aren't designed for students today. In fact, the design of lockers hasn't changed since the days of your great grandparents!

But in the School of the Future things could be different. Reimagine the design of a 21st century locker you would need as a Maker. A locker you could use to keep all of your stuff for making!

Let's get started on the challenge to redesign your school locker.

This locker is a new and improved design to make the school year a little easier for any student involved. It has everything you'll ever need for a long day at school.

Comments

I want a locker opened by retina or finger print scan so that no one could ever open it except me. - Steven C Wyer

By comcast968, Student at 06:27 am, 09 March 2015

Collect Instructions

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Gather more information about your existing school lockers by taking photos, sketching, conducting interviews, or doing additional research.

Think About

  • What is the purpose of a school locker?
  • How has the way you use a locker changed since you first started school in kindergarten, for example?
  • How many times do you visit and open your locker each day?
  • Do teachers or school administrators have any safety or security concerns about lockers?  What are they?
  • What types of materials is your locker constructed from?

Try This

  • Take photos of a row of your school's lockers.  Open your own locker and take a photo of what's stored inside.
  • Make a list of all the features your locker currently has. (Examples: hooks, air slots, etc.)
  • Make a list of all the items you currently keep in your locker on a typical day.
  • Next to each item, make notes about what 'needs' that item has.  (Examples: my sweaty gym clothes need to kept away from my other things; my iPod needs electricity to be charged; my winter boots need a place to drip dry)
  • Make a list of all the items you wish you could store in your locker, but don’t have room for.
  • Measure the length, height, and depth of your current locker.
  • Measure the length, height, and depth of your backpack, books, coat / shoes, and other large objects you typically keep inside your locker.
  • Measure the width of your school's hallway.  How much of this width is taken up on both sides of the hallway when students stand in front of their open lockers?
  • Read this Washington Post article to learn more about some of the complaints students have with their lockers today.
  • Visit the websites of a few manufacturers to see various types of lockers currently made.  What do you like or dislike about these examples?

slang's work for the Collect Information step:

Summary
We made a list of anything and everything people tend to need throughout the school day, no matter how ridiculous. Looking up others complaints about lockers really helped us in this process
We found an article on students complaining about their locker sizes with todays backpack and...
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Next, we went out into Butler's halls and found that the entire hallway is 16ft wide. We also...
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We then observed an everyday school locker and found its measurments. The locker had three hooks...
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We found an article on schools getting rid of lockers. With todays technology, ebooks and other...
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One problem we found is students forgetting their locker number and combination. They found no use...
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Heres an article we found back pain from backpacks. Although society is becoming technologically...
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School lunches have never been known to be all that great. Students usually prefer to bring their...
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Brainstorm Instructions

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Develop sketches or models to help you puzzle through new ideas and solutions.

Think About

  • Make a list of all the things you like about your current locker.  Ask several friends for their opinions.
  • Make a list of all the things you dislike about your current locker.  Ask several friends for their opinions.
  • Think about your locker not just as a metal box, but as another type of container.  What other types of containers do you use each day to store stuff?  (Examples: containers for food, clothing, household items)
  • Many animals, insects, and plants use containers to store things (Example: bees use honeycombs).  Check out some of the images in the Inspiration Gallery for other ideas of strorage units.
  • Keep in mind that your newly-designed locker will be one of many along the hallway.  How will these individual units all fit together?  How will several students use their lockers at the same time without bumping into each other?

Try This

  • Based on the information you collected above, brainstorm a list of special features you’d like your new locker to have.
  • Make lots of sketches to get your early ideas down on paper.  Learn from each different idea. 
  • Consider what materials the locker will be made from.  What materials will be durable against the wear and tear of student use over the years?

slang's work for the Brainstorm Ideas step:

Summary
We brainstormed ideas by finding problems with todays lockers and figuring out how we can improve those lockers. Some ideas we have come up with are: - USB Port - fingerprint scanner
Today, almost every student has a cellphone with a battery life that can last you half a day, if...
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Another idea we have is a finger print scanner for your locker. The average time between classes is...
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One thing that students love is having a fresh lunch. If there was a mini fridge in the locker...
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Another possible addition to our locker could possibly be a microwave. Along with the mini fridge,...
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Having a locker is like having your own personal space at school. Teachers could use the mail slot...
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We made many sketches of what we thought our locker could look like. We will make the prototype out...
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Develop Instructions

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Now's the time to take what you've learned from the steps above and develop your own solution for a new locker.

Try This

  • Use recycled cardboard to make a full-scale or half-scale prototype model of your locker.  You can't really understand if the locker will hold all your stuff, until you make a quick study model.  Don't worry about making a fancy finished model at this time. Instead, use cardstock, scissors, and tape to quickly create the large 3D form. See how it looks. Break off different sections, add new pieces, and try new ideas. Take photos of your model.
  • Sketch or use software such as Google SketchUp, AutoCAD, or Revit to put your ideas on paper.

slang's work for the Develop Solutions step:

Summary
We developed solutions by taking our brainstorming list and deciding when we had too much but also when we had a highly effective locker.
Our locker is going to have an outlet in it so you can charge your phone, laptop, or any other...
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Our locker is going to include shelves that are fit to textbook size so your books will fit exactly...
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Lockers can be dark and it can be hard to find anything in a dark area! Our locker is going to...
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Our locker is going to include a whiteboard where you can write any and all upcoming events or even...
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Our locker is a full length locker that will provide more room to keep all of your stuff in...
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We did not get a final picture of our locker but it was a half- scale model which was a 1/2 a foot...
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Final Instructions

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The final step of the design process is to create a more finished model that communicates your ideas to others.

Try This

  • What color or colors will your locker be? What colors have inspired you?  Add colors to the digital model of your locker.
  • What materials will your locker be made of?  Choose materials and details to add to your digital model.
  • Include a human figure in your final locker model, so we can see how big your locker really is.
  • Upload additional images of your finished locker model to the slides for your project.  Write short captions explaining your ideas.
  • Congratulations on solving this design challenge!

slang's work for the Final Design step:

Summary
Our final design was composed of all of our ideas without overdoing it too much. We kept our favorite elements that we came up with and made a prototype.
Our final design includes our two doors being a whiteboard and also a chalkboard. The whiteboard...
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Of course we kept the microwave and minifridge as they were one of our favorite aspects and...
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We painted our locker blue because blue is a generic color but it also represents being calm and...
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Our actual locker will be built of metal but for now we used cardboard, paint, and tape to create a...
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Our locker was a full sized locker that was the size of an average shorter person.
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