SHIFT Learning by Design brain model

This paragraph appears in search results and previews for this page. In three to five sentences, summarize the whole project from background to result: what you designed, for whom, where and when, why it matters, and how it turned out. Write this last. It should make sense to someone who has never heard of your project, your client, or Humboldt County.

Describe the background of the project, covering who, what, when, why, and where: the client, the site, the course (Engr205 Introduction to Design at Cal Poly Humboldt), the semester, and your team. This page will be read by people around the world and in the future, so give enough context that a stranger understands it. Refer to your images in the text, e.g., Figure 1 shows the site before the project.

Images uploaded to Appropedia must be free to share and uniquely named. Start each file name with your project name, e.g., CCAT_compost_bin_background.jpg. Use File:Default.png as a placeholder until you have the real image. Give every image alt text (alt=) that describes it for readers using screen readers; the caption is what everyone reads, the alt text is what the image shows.

The objective of this project is to design, build, and test an interactive model of the human brain to be used in a college-level classroom setting as an instructional aid for learning the anatomy and functions of the human brain.

When designing this brain model, a wide range of aspects need to be considered. These problems and the ideas behind them are organized into appropriate categories: specifications, considerations, criteria, constraints, and usage.

• The product(s) shall be a life-sized model
• The product shall have user inputs and interactive output.
• Must not exceed 400 USD budget
• Must be built during this semester, before the due date
• Must meet safety requirements
• Must meet accessibility requirements
  • Must be hypoallergenic
  • Must be color-coded and be perceivable through color-blindness
  • Must be suitable for poor vision and include Braille for the main labels
    • Must be high contrast
  • Must be limited-dexterity friendly
• Must represent effects of trauma on brain structures throughout development
• Must be composed of many disassembleable, connectable parts
• Must be aesthetically pleasing

The considerations for this educational project include, but are not limited to:

• Humidity of classrooms, oils on hands, and temperature of the environment where the tool is living can all affect durability over time.
• Wear and tear from frequent student interaction on a daily basis
• There is no default type of student, and education has no room for one-size-fits-all approaches to teaching methods and instructional tools. There is a wide range of students, all with drastically different abilities and limitations affecting the effectiveness of instructional aids.
• Science and knowledge of the brain changes with time. What we know to be the exact shape and function of different areas could be significantly different 2 years from now.
• The educational aspect of the interchangable parts will undoubtedly come with incorrect initial placements and rough handling of the pieces.
• The use of separate instructions is not ideal, so the pieces themselves should contain all the appropriate information for how to assemble.
• Pricing and shipping times for materials could be significant, especially because of the location within Humboldt County.

The judgable criteria that this project will need to meet, as well as the limiting constraints and weight of these criteria, are listed in Table 1 below. These criteria and constraints were determined through interviewing the Child Development Association President, Jaelyn F., who is the head representative for this project.

Table 1: Criteria and Constraints for Brain Models

Criterion	Constraint	Weight (0–10, 10 highest)
Durability	Must withstand wear and tear for a period of time.	8
Interactive	Must be able to allow students to explore different brain parts and functions.	10
Portable	Must be lightweight, easy to move, carry, and store.	9
Easy to use	Must be user-friendly and minimal instructions needed.	9
Educational	Must help students easily learn and understand brain development and functions.	10
Accessiblility	Must be able to used by people of all abilities and meet a range of accessibility rules.	8
Aesthetic	Must be pleasing to look at.	5

This product will be used by college students taking courses in the Childhood Development department, primarily in the class "Children in Stress'," as well as other similar classes learning about brain development within the same department. It will be used as an instructional aid to be paired with information on brain development with a "bottom up" approach, with an emphasis on how trauma affects structural brain development in these areas. Students will have the opportunity to pass around the brain and take it apart to rebuild, in a way that promotes learning the inner structure of the brain in an interactive way. It will be used throughout the semester, every semester, on a regular basis, especially in the first 5 weeks during the first couple chapters of the semester. The brain should be able to last at least 5 years, and the designs should be replicable, as well as editable, so that as it ages and degrades, and as science changes, the brain parts will be able to be updated or replaced as needed (Source: Interview with Jaelyn F. (CDA President)).

The client would like a life-sized physical model of the brain. The model is for college students' study. The model shall have interactivity by audio and ideally additional modes. Additionally, the model must be materially hypoallergenic and durable.

Describe the client and what matters to them for this project. Sources here are often the client's website, documents, and interviews.

Client interview^[1]

We interviewed Jaelyn F. (CDA President) and Sidney C. (N/A) , and the key points they shared were they wanted a 4 developing portable brain model with an aesthetic look and smooth material. They also insist that it had removable pieces that are memorizable for the adult students and also to focus on the brain stem and cerebellum. The client wants a portable, interactive brain model that is slightly larger than a real brain and mounted on a rotating stand. It should focus on brain development, brain functions, the brain stem, cerebellum, and stress responses. The model should include removable magnetic pieces, buttons, and possible lights, vibration, or audio. It should also be smooth, color-blind friendly, safe, and made without DHP or latex, while avoiding strobe lights.

Summary: This textbook explains how the nervous system and brain works, including brain structure, neurons, movement, learning and memory, brain development, and stress, while discussing the different brain regions, such as the brain stem and cerebellum, that contribute to body functions and behavior.

Relevance: This information will be useful for understanding brain development, the brain stem, cerebellum, neurons, and how the brain responds to stress to help us determine what parts and functions to include in our model.

Book

• Brain structure and function
• Brain development
• Functions of the brain stem and cerebellum

Morris, R. and Fillenz, M. (2003) Neuroscience Science of the brain an introduction for young students, Neuroscience of the Brain. Available at: https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/md/izn/teaching/neuroscience/img/neuroscience-of-the-brain-english.pdf

Summary: This article goes over how the body responds to stress and returns to a calmer state afterward. It explains how the ANS (Autonomic Nervous System) regulates autonomic body functions and how the SNS (Sympathetic Nervous System) and PNS (Parasympathetic Nervous System) work together.

Relevance: This information is useful for designing the stress response features of our brain model. It shows how the SNS and PNS respond differently during stress and relaxation. Also helps with the clients request for interactive stress activations.

Website

• ANS, SNS, and PNS
• Stress response
• Body’s return to a resting state

Yarwood, M. (ed.) (no date) Autonomic nervous system: Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) – psychology of human emotion: An open access textbook, Psychology of Human Emotion. Available at: https://psu.pb.unizin.org/psych425/chapter/744/

Summary: This neuroimaging project provides snapshot data across 282 persons aged approximately 18-68. Included was high-density EEG, structural T1 MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging, and cognitive test battery; Therefore, the dataset spans electrophysiology, macrostructure, white-matter microstructure and behaviour in the same individuals.

Relevance: Although not tracking delta over time, one of the advantages of this study is its sampling from a broad random population rather than the primarily university-affiliated and or volunteer participants typical of much neuroimaging research... helping to provide more diversely accurate models.

Journal

Valdes-Sosa, P.A., Galan-Garcia, L., Bosch-Bayard, J. et al. The Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project, a young and middle age population-based EEG, MRI, and cognition dataset. Sci Data 8, 45 (2021). Read at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00829-7

Summary: This journal article has information about nerve fiber tracts in the brain and contains numerous images of different slices of the brain highlighting different fiber tracts and how they visually look in specialty imaging.

Relevance: This could aid in determining how to visually represent the nerves that make up the autonomic nervous system and peripheral nervous system.

Journal

• Visual images of the brain and nerves
• Different angles and inner slices visualized
• Visual changes as a result of trauma

Armocida, D., T. Spiriev, M. Milev, F. Carbone, M. Wolf-Vollenbröker, M. Sabel, M. Rapp, and J. F. Cornelius. 2025. “Fusion of 3D photorealistic lateral-to-medial brain white matter dissection and diffusion tensor imaging for dynamic visualization of key fiber tracts.” Brain and Spine, 5: 104261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bas.2025.104261.

Summary: This is a textbook chapter (chapter 2, section 2) recommended by the client to explain the developmental stages of brain formation that should be reflected in this project. This has a basic overview of how the neural part of the human brain develops over time, with emphasis on the formation of the nervous systems.

Relevance: This chapter will help us gain an understanding on the developmental stages we will be representing, as well as the scaled sizes we will be working with.

Book

• Brain sizes over developmental lifespan
• Key developmental stages
• Insight on what areas of the brain we will be working with

Alliance, E. n.d. “2-2 stages of brain development.” Child Development: Brain Building Course Book. https://uw.pressbooks.pub/eeducdbb/chapter/2-2-stages-of-brain-development/.

Summary: This article has information about how trauma and PTSD contribute to structural malformations in the developing brain. It goes over the actual description of the structural changes as well as the effects they have on a child.

Relevance: This information will be useful in determining the shapes and special effects this model will contain to help aid in the primary use of these brain models- to be used in an educational setting to teach adult students the effects physical and emotional trauma has on the formation of the brain.

Website

• PTSD effects on developing brain
• Structual changes corresponding to trauma
• Actual descriptions of formation changes

Herringa, R. J. 2017. “Trauma, PTSD, and the developing brain.” Current Psychiatry Reports, 19 (10): 69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0825-3.  

Summary: This journal article explains how stress affects the brain and body, especially during periods of brain development. It also discusses the biological systems involved in stress and how repeated or intense stress responses can affect development.

Relevance: This information is useful for our brain model to demonstrate stress responses and brain development which is what our client asked from us. It helps us understand how the brain responds to stress and decide what information or interactive features should be included.

Journal

• Brain development and stress
• Biological stress responses
• Effects of stress during development

Gunnar, M. and Quevedo, K. (no date) The Neurobiology of Stress and Development, National Center for Biotechnology Information. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16903808/

Summary: This cross-sectional structural MRI study covering a large healthy sample spanning 8-30 years of age measures volumes of subcortical structures - the thalamus, caudate, putamen, pallidum, hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens; The conclusion is that these structures don't follow a single shared trajectory of development, rather, thalamus and several other structures are already close to their near-adult volume by the early part of the age range, but the basal ganglia show non-uniform age-related change... with more change present in the putamen and pallidum than the caudate.

Relevance: The study permits the model to show the thalamus and basal ganglia as essentially complete in the adolescence stage but not the cortical association stages, a distinction mere cortical sources cannot alone make. The study supplies subcortical aspects of understandings of development in its age range, complicating pure cortical imaging literature, establishing that subcortical maturation largely precedes higher-order cortical association areas' completion.

Journal

Østby, Y., C. K. Tamnes, A. M. Fjell, L. T. Westlye, P. Due-Tønnessen, and K. B. Walhovd. 2009. "Heterogeneity in subcortical brain development: A structural magnetic resonance imaging study of brain maturation from 8 to 30 years." Journal of Neuroscience, 29(38), 11772–11782.

Summary: This book meta-analyzes studies on neurological development, concluding that most neurons of the mature brain are produced prenatally but that myelination is a long process spanning from the start of early childhood for some regions to the end of early adulthood in others.

Relevance: The source establishes that developmental stages are useful checkpoints rather than fixed boundaries; This is important because if a client wants stage set brain development snapshot models, it may not reflect the variability true of development.

Book

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. J. P. Shonkoff and D. A. Phillips, eds. National Academies Press, Washington, DC. Free full text at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225557/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK225557.pdf

Color Blindness Guide

Summary: This is a website designed to help create a color blind friendly color scheme for products to promote inclusivity. It has information on the different types of color blindness, tips for how to address them, and a palette maker to create a color blind user friendly palette.

Relevance: This will majorly help us when coming up with the colors to make all the sections of the brain and ensure all students can use the color coding properties.

Website

RGBlind. 2025. “Color Blind Friendly palette – Tips & tools for accessible design.” RGBlind. https://rgblind.com/blog/color-blind-friendly-palette.

Accessibility Guidelines for Design

Summary: This is not so much an article, as much as it is a website filled with resources and tests to help design accessible projects. This website also has a feature that can tell the user exactly what access barriers their current designs have and how to address them.

Relevance: Making an educational resource object, it is extremely important to have accessibility at the forefront of the plans and discussions. This product is to aid in helping every student learn the materials, not just the able-bodied people.

Website

Bakshi, R. n.d. “Design for Access — Accessibility & UDL for instructional designers.” Design for Access. https://www.designforaccess.org/resources.

Mechanical Properties of Silicone for Soft Robotics

Summary: This article talks about silicone materials used in soft robotic scenarios and focuses on their mechanical properties, flexibility, durability, and ability to function as soft surfaces. This will be useful because it explains why silicone is good for applicants that require materials that can bend, stretch, and maintain their structure.

Relevance: This information is useful for designing the outer layer of our brain model. Silicone’s flexibility and soft feel could help make the model feel more realistic while still being durable enough for people to handle.

Journal

• Silicone Mechanical Properties
• Flexibility and Durability
• Soft robotic skin

Marechal, L., P. Balland, L. Lindenroth, F. Petrou, C. Kontovounisios, and F. Bello. 2021. "Toward a Common Framework and Database of Materials for Soft Robotics." Soft Robotics, 8(3), 284–297. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2019.0115

Biocompatibility of Medical Device Materials

Summary: The FDA document talks about the importance of evaluating the biological safety and biocompatibility of materials used in medical devices. It explains different factors that should be considered when determining whether a material is appropriate for contact with the human body.

Relevance: This information is useful for selecting a safe material for the outer layer of our brain model. It provides guidelines that can help us with considering potential biological risk and material safety when choosing silicone or other material.

Website

• Biocompatibility
• Material Safety
• Biological risks

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 2023. Use of International Standard ISO 10993-1, "Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices — Part 1: Evaluation and Testing Within a Risk Management Process": Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/use-international-standard-iso-10993-1-biological-evaluation-medical-devices-part-1-evaluation-and

Thermoplastic Elastomers as Alternative to Silicone

Summary: This article talks about TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomers) and their potential uses as soft, flexible materials. It discusses the different properties of TPE materials and how their characteristics can vary depending on their composition and application.

Relevance: This information is useful for comparing possible materials for the outer layer of our brain model. It can help our team determine whether TPE could be an alternative to silicone based on factors such as flexibility, durability, safety, and suitability for our model.

Journal

• Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE)
• Flexible Materials
• Silicone Alternatives

Varsavas, S. D., P. Michalec, M. Khalifa, P. Li, and S. Spintzyk. 2024. "Cytocompatibility of Polymers for Skin-Contact Applications Produced via Pellet Extrusion." Journal of Functional Biomaterials, 15(7), 179. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11278057/

Magnet Choices

Summary: This paper argues how permanent magnets are commonly specified poorly... and products could be both better performing and cheaper if magnetic properties were selected carefully. Permanent magnet materials include ferrite, alnico, SmCo and NdFeB, with ferrite cheapest and NdFeb stronger, and others offering heat resistance but not for cheap; Both include dens and bonded variants, with dense being stronger but bonded being non-brittle, and NdFeB dense magnets may require coatings to prevent corrosion.

Relevance: This paper discusses various magnet options available. While it also discusses matters not likely relevant, such as high temperature applications, and such as pre-magnetization being safer - though such would mainly apply to large magnets... not likely utilized in this project... and require equipment to magnetize, it lays out the pros and cons of different magnets that might be chosen... helping designing prevent common mistakes in selecting such.

Paper

Trout, S. R., and Gary D. Wooten. 2003. "Selection and Specification of Permanent Magnet Materials." In Proceedings: Electrical Insulation Conference and Electrical Manufacturing and Coil Winding Technology Conference, 2003. Available at: https://spontaneousmaterials.com/Papers/CW2003.pdf

• Developmental stages are trends and patterns, not hard presets, and subcortical and cortical regions differ in their maturations.
• The brain stem, cerebellum, ANS and stress response are core pedagogical objectives for interactive model modes.
• Trauma and the changes it causes with the brain should be represented in a conflict informed and non-stigmatizing manner.
• Silicone offers favorable mechanical properties, but thermoplastic elastomers can better fit certain designs.
• Accessibility must be designed around from the start, and user friendliness in addition needs features facilitative of hands-on learning.

Various solutions are required to make the model come to live as a fully functional product. There is more than one way to solve a problem, and more than one problem, and several of such solutions to problems are depicted below.

Our team considered different designs for an interactive brain model that teaches users about the brain and structures. We compared the designs based on cost, accuracy, ease of assembly, feedback, and educational value to choose the best design.

Cost

The total amount of money needed for materials, magnets, electronics, and the charging platform.

Accuracy

How well the model identifies whether each brain piece is connected to the correct location.

Ease of Assembly

How easily users can connect, remove, and reposition the brain pieces.

Feedback

How clearly the model tells users whether a piece is in the correct or incorrect location through lights, sounds, or messages.

Educational Value

How well the model helps users identify brain structures and understand their names, locations, and functions.

Our team used a weighted decision matrix to compare the five alternatives. We assigned each criterion a weight based on its importance and rated each alternative from 0 to 10 for every criterion. We multiplied each score by its criterion's weight and added the results to calculate a weighted total for each alternatives. We then compared the totals to determine which design best meets the needs of our brain model project.

Table 2: Decision matrix. Scores are 0-10; weighted totals are the sum of weight × score.

Criterion	Weight	Color Coded	Tactile	Light Up	Layered Materials	Magnets
Cost	8	9	7	5	6	7
Accuracy	10	8	7	9	8	9
Ease of Assembly	7	9	8	7	7	9
Feedback	9	5	6	10	4	7
Educational Value	10	8	9	9	6	8
Weighted total		348	331	344	269	344

Our team chose Color Coded Regions as the leading alternative based on example decision matrix, with a weighted total of 348. Color coding makes different brain structures easier to identify and helps users learn where each part belongs. Although Light Up Interactivity and Magnetized Part Adhesion also provide useful features, color coding offers a simple and affordable way to improve the model's education value.

Show your most impactful prototypes from earliest to final. Include at least one prototype for function (does it work? e.g., testing a mechanism, material, or dimension) and at least one prototype for desire (will people want to use it? e.g., a mockup shown to the client or users for feedback). Each caption should say what the prototype is, whether it tested function or desire, and what you learned from it. Early sketches, failed attempts, and photos of materials and hands at work all help tell the story.

• 
  Prototype for desire: cardboard mockup of ... shown to the client. We learned that ...
• 
  Prototype for function: test of ... We learned that ...

Describe the final design, starting with the big picture and then going into detail. Use labeled images and refer to them in the text. This is usually a big section.

• 
  CAD drawing of ... by Yourname1.
• 
  Drawing of ... by Yourname2.

Give a complete description of how the final design is built, with lots of images, so someone else could replicate it. Use one {{Step}} per step. This is much easier to write as descriptive (what you did) instead of prescriptive (what another person should do), but you can take either approach.

This project timeline covers respectively predicted and documented completion dates of future and past processes of the project from its start to its finish. Significant general tasks are listed to daily precision, but the exact timings may adjust among each other and be adapted according to newly discovered needs and known constraints.

Date	Description	Status
17 Sep 2026	Client intro email	Complete
20 Sep 2026	Problem formulation	Complete
29 Sep 2026	Literature review posted	Complete
01 Oct 2026	Refined requirements with client	Complete
05 Oct 2026	Propose a comprehensive product draft	Not started
08 Oct 2026	Review product proposal with client	Not started
12 Oct 2026	Compile materials procurement list	Not started
14 Oct 2026	Submit initial procurements request to client	Not started
19 Oct 2026	Propose solutions for 3D fabrication problem	Not started
21 Oct 2026	Select 3D fabrication problem solution	Not started
28 Oct 2026	Complete 3D modeling & mechanics work, if applicable	Not started
02 Nov 2026	Fabricate first prototype	Not started
05 Nov 2026	Aquire client feedback on prototype	Not started
09 Nov 2026	Complete requirements draft on final product	Not started
11 Nov 2026	Complete specifications draft of final product	Not started
12 Nov 2026	Present final specifications proposal to client	Not started
16 Nov 2026	Submit procurements request for final additional items	Not started
18 Nov 2026	Complete all product fabrications feasible presently	Not started
19 Nov 2026	Showcase near-complete or complete product to client	Not started
30 Nov 2026	Draft presentation script & logistics	Not started
02 Dec 2026	Complete any final product modifications, using additional items	Not started
03 Dec 2026	Deliver product to client	Not started
04 Dec 2026	Have any presentation filming completed	Not started
05 Dec 2026	Complete finished presentation edit and project document, and team review	Not started
06 Dec 2026	Submit final project media	Not started

Introduce the three kinds of cost below in one to two sentences.

Show the total human hours your team spent outside of class, grouped into categories (e.g., research, brainstorming, prototyping, construction, documentation). Three teammates working for one hour is three human hours.

Introduce the costs to build the design, including donations and reused materials. Note whether costs are actual or proposed. If replication would cost a different amount, say so.

Item	Amount	Cost per unit	Total
Thing - from the thing store — Purchased	3	USD 5.75	USD 17.25
Another thing - 3' x 2', yellow — Donated by ...	1	USD 0.00	USD 0.00
PrintGrand total			USD 17.25EUR 14.84 <br />GBP 12.59 <br />CAD 21.39 <br />MXN 359.66 <br />INR 1,291.16 <br />

Introduce the ongoing costs in time and money, usually per year.

Table 4: Yearly maintenance cost.

Task	Frequency	Time per year (hours)	Cost per year (USD)
Example task	Monthly	2	0.00
Total		2	0.00

Introduce how to use the design, then give step-by-step instructions with labeled images. Use {{Step}} if the process has more than a few steps. A short video is a great addition:

Introduce this maintenance section. Answer these questions:

• Are there any needed actions for maintenance?
• How often?
• Who should perform maintenance?

This is when to maintain what. Please keep the format the same as it can be used to auto-populate maintenance tables.

Daily

• A daily task
• A daily task

Weekly

• a weekly task
• a weekly task

Monthly

• a monthly task
• a monthly task

Yearly

• a yearly task
• a yearly task

Every __ years

• task
• task

Give step-by-step maintenance instructions, using {{Step}} if helpful.

Describe how you tested the final design and what the results were. Compare the results to your criteria, e.g., in a table like Table 5.

Table 5: Final design performance against criteria.

Criterion	Constraint	Result	Met?
Cost	Less than or equal to $3 per ounce	$2.50 per ounce	Yes

Discuss what the testing results mean.

Discuss what your team learned and what you would do differently next time.

Discuss next steps for the project as it goes on into the future.

Cover basic operating problems only. For complex issues, the suggestion might be to contact ________.

Problem	Suggestion
Example issue	Example solution or suggestion
Does not turn on	Make sure it is plugged in.
Another issue	Etc.

Include an inspirational video for sharing.

Introduce the team and semester, e.g., This project was completed in SEMESTER YEAR by Team TEAMNAME:

• Lonny Grafman
• Emilio Velis
• One bullet for each team member, in the format [[User:Username|Full Name]].