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Discovery or Busybox Discovery or Busy Box
The Discovery Box is collection of buttons, knobs, latches, switches, shoots, drawers, compartments, and handles all designed to easily produce "happenings" of light, noise, sensation, or movement or to reveal hidden toys or food with the idea of engaging a special needs child in exploration and thus discovery and development of his or her own capabilities.

This one has been in use for over 20 years at the Whatcom Center for Early Learning in Bellingham, WA.

This article is not meant to be complete and detailed plans. It is written to explain our project in the hope it will encourage other collaborations between teacher and builder.

My first busy box evolved from a collaboration between myself and Rochelle Bunnett. The idea had been simmering in my mind ever since I had seen plans for a busy box in the back of an old project book, but it was Rochelle that propelled this vague idea into reality.

Rochelle worked for the Whatcom Center for Early Learning, a community outreach program for special needs children. She wanted a method to teach her students specific hand actions and problem solving but was unable to by the exact equipment she wanted.

Details began to fall in place. Rochelle applied for, and received, a $500 grant from Fratelle's Ice Cream in Seattle. The Bellingham public Library system was converting from card catalogs to computers and made the surplus card catalogs available for worthwhile projects. We bought one for $50.

The card catalog was (40" wide X 18" deep X 24" tall) big enough so children couldn't push it around and small enough so two adults could carry it. We didn't want thirty same-sized drawers so I removed the horizontal partitions between the second and third rows making five chambers twice the height of the normal drawers. In the bottom two rows I removed vertical partitions to give six wide drawers.

While I was doing this Rochelle made a list of the things and actions she wanted. I had also made a list of actions I thought might be fun for kids and together we went over each idea, either assigning it to a drawer or rejecting it. Then all I had to do is build it!

SOME DETAILS FROM OUR BOX
  • A 12 volt gel cell hobby battery powers the lights and fan. This battery was hooked up through a fuse box and a button (normally open) operated a voltmeter to moniter battery charge. I later took out the battery and replaced it with a train transformer.
  • All compartments and drawers were shortened to 12" or less, which left 6" in the back for the ball roll pipe, battery, wires and storage.
  • Each drawer was fastened with a short rope to keep it from coming out the front.
  • I put doors, with child proof latches, on the back of the box for easy access to battery, wires etc.
  • The compartments were sealed off from each other so little hands would not find their way to the inner workings.
DESCRIPTION OF EACH DRAWER
  1. The door to this drawer hinges down when a child pulls on the handle.
  2. Golf or rubber ball rolls through the plastic plumbing pipe to drawer11.
  3. Reach through the curtains to discover hidden toy.
  4. A tape recorder with an adjustable time delay. A child pushes the button and the tape player plays their favorite story or music for 0-60 seconds (adjusted by the teacher).
  5. A twist knob opens this drawer.
  6. A slide Latch?
  7. This is a small door (regular door knob) with a curved mirror behind it.
  8. This compartment contains a colored light controlled by a regular light switch. A timed switch would better.
  9. A flashing light and siren are controlled by a pull chain switch. This apparatus was taken from a Radio Shack fireman's helmet. I eventually disconnected the siren because it was too noisy but the kids still enjoy the flashing light.
  10. A small fan is controlled by a regular light switch. Some children like the breeze in their face. I think a small squirrel cage blower would work better than the fan.
  11. The ball from drawer two ends up here.
  12. A gate latch opens a Plexiglas door. Two hands are needed to do this work.
  13. This drawer opens with a slide latch.
  14. Open this drawer by sticking your finger in the hole and pulling.
  15. Lift the latch to open the drawer.
  16. A small pull knob.
  17. Large pull knob.
  18. A small pull knob.
My wife, an Occupational Therapist, borrowed the busy box from WCEL and took it to the special needs classroom where she worked. The teacher was so pleased she asked me to build another busy box for them. It was the same idea but we did change a few things:
  • Since card catalogs weren't available I built the box from scratch which actually wasn't much more difficult than using the card catalogs.
  • Added a handrail
  • Used a door lock with inner workings visible through Plexiglas
  • Had bells instead of the siren which was noisy
  • Added a hand crank generator (lower right) and a fish eye periscope (hole in lower left drawer)
  • Used different lights and switches
  • Drawer # 6 opens by pulling on a magnet.

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