The Walla Walla University Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Club partnered with the university’s Education Club to create an adapted toy table for the Providence Physical Therapy waiting room. The finished product was donated to Providence PT in early June 2025.
With work beginning in the fall, the table was constructed during three Toy Hack Workshop events. Since Brian Hartman, associate professor of education, started the event in 2017, the IEEE Club and Education Club have hosted the Toy Hack Workshop nearly every year.
These workshops are a unique opportunity for WWU students to learn new skills like soldering, circuitry, and simple electronics while making a real difference in their community. Though they are purchasable, “these kinds of toys can be hundreds of dollars. Being able to provide these toys to parents and kids for free can be really helpful,” said Hartman.
Typically, the Toy Hack Workshop focuses on smaller projects, modifying individual toys to meet specific needs. This table presented a little more of a challenge. To determine the project’s parameters, the IEEE Club spoke to their providers at Providence.
The club determined that the table had to be a child-friendly size and the toys had to be entertaining yet nondisruptive. For future maintenance or substitutions, the toys also had to be mounted yet removable. Once the perfect table was found, along with four toys to match, workshop participants helped modify and install the electronic toys to make them more accessible to children with disabilities.
This year’s Toy Hack Workshops saw a good mix of both engineering and education students. For those with little to no experience, club sponsors were present to teach basic engineering skills, but the students worked with one another to find the best way to maintain each toy’s functionality while improving its accessibility.
No matter the scale, the adapted toys produced by each Toy Hack Workshop have an incredible impact on the community. The WWU Adaptive Toy Program receives donations to fund each project, allowing them to offer adapted toys to individuals and organizations free of charge.
To learn more about the Edward F. Cross School of Engineering, visit wallawalla.edu/engineering. For more about the School of Education and Psychology, go to wallawalla.edu/ed-psych.
Posted July 24, 2025
