Third and fourth grade students from Junior School and Country Day School recently showcased their creativity, collaboration, and compassion at the 2026 Design to Make a Difference Showcase, held on Monday, May 18. The annual event challenges young innovators to use the human-centered design process to develop products that address real-world problems. Throughout the experience, students learn to empathize with users, identify meaningful challenges, and create solutions that can be prototyped through 3D printing technology.

After three months of collaborative brainstorming, testing, and redesigning, the Junior School team, led by Brittany Andy, Junior School Educational Technology Collaborator, unveiled “LunchABLE,” a set of tools to help people be more independent at lunch (pictured above). The intended audiences are students as well as people who have difficulty using their hands. The tools include "Poke It" (opens juice boxes), "Peel It" (peels oranges and bananas), "Twist It" (twists the caps off of bottles), and "Rip It" (tears open snack bags). The Junior School team, made up of third grade students Francesca A., Meryn F., Felix N., Jeffrey P., Joseph S., and Oliver S., took home the bronze award in the Impact category.

Country Day School students also impressed judges with their innovative and practical design. Their invention, the "Bolder Book Holder," is a device that holds your book open to the page that you are reading, with hinged arms that lift up to allow for page turning (pictured below). There are also handle attachments for easy holding with one hand and a unicorn horn attachment for a book light as a whimsical touch. The Country Day School sent their first-ever all-girl team comprised of fourth grade students Chloe G., Zaynab A., Grace H., Anna C., Chloe S., Claire P., and Ryan R. The team, led by Country Day School’s Educational Technology Coordinator Kate Weber, ended up winning the bronze in the Grit category and the bronze in the Ingenuity category.

The showcase gave students the opportunity to combine empathy, imagination, and STEM skills while learning that innovation can have a meaningful impact on everyday life. Through collaboration and problem-solving, students discovered that thoughtful design is not just about creating products—it is about improving experiences and making a difference for others.