Busy Board

thingiverse

Activity boards feature a foundation to which various gadgets and gizmos are attached, designed to help very young children develop fine motor and cognitive skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving abilities. Many of these boards can be found online under names like Activity Boards, Busy Boards, and Sensory boards, available in different sizes and complexities. My Busy Board incorporates some common features such as bells, lights, and torches, but primarily it boasts 3D printed items intended to help young children develop their motor and sensory skills in a fun way. The board has nine 3D printed gizmos, not all of which are included here, but it does feature four fully developed models with descriptions and STL files. I created this for my great-grandson, and through his testing, some enhancements have been made and incorporated into the design. With so many items already existing on Thingiverse, you should be able to find ones that fit the gaps left by me, such as Marble runs, Clickers, and Fidget Spinners. The included items are as follows: 1. A Revolving Teddy bear, which consists of a handle turning a teddy bear model sitting atop it via a pair of Bevel gears. The teddy bear is easily removable and replaceable. I used a model from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:20938, so thank you to 'cerberus333'. 2. A Pop-up head, the most complex one features a spring-loaded head that pops up at the press of a button. 3. A Key with Ratchet, turning the key causes the ratchet inside to click. 4. A Coin Box and Stacker, containing coins with three different shapes cut through their centers so they can be stacked when removed from the container with a screw-on lid. There is also a box with a button on top that plays a sound or tune when pressed, similar to this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253999530459?ul_noapp=true. A hand-crank music box inside a printed case like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/351238814929?chn=ps A Bicycle bell, a torch with projector, and Tap on Tap off LED light. I used a Bamboo Breadboard for the base, although other materials are equally acceptable. I also stuck the items to the board using double-sided sticky foam pads; you could screw or glue them in place as well. This should give you ideas that you can build for your own children or grandchildren.