Go Baby Go build event. Photo by Christopher Ian Smith
MACON, Ga. – Mercer University’s Engineering Honors Program and Tift School of Education will host their latest Go Baby Go build on Feb. 15 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., on University Center Intramural Court No. 3 to modify battery-powered toy cars for children with limited mobility.
Go Baby Go is a national, community-based research, design and outreach program started in 2012 at the University of Delaware. Integrating assistive technology, families, clinicians and industry partners, the program helps provide children with disabilities the opportunity for movement, mobility and socialization.
The University began holding build events in December 2016 and has provided mobility solutions to 182 children. For the upcoming build, Mercer freshman and senior Engineering Honors students will make and modify cars to fit the specific needs of children in approximately 10 families.
The event is supported by the School of Engineering’s Dr. Philip McCreanor, professor of engineering and director of the Engineering Honors Program, and Professor Michael Marcoux, professor of industrial engineering; and Tift College of Education’s Dr. Sybil Keesbury Martin, professor of teacher education and director of The Holistic Child Program. Hutchinson Automotive Group became the corporate sponsor of the event in the fall of 2023.
“Go Baby Go provides Mercer education students the ability to participate in the builds by helping with childcare, meeting the families, seeing children and families up close and personal and interacting with them,” said Dr. Martin. “Students are building relationships with these children and families just for the few hours that they’re on campus. It allows students to put into practice all the things that they’re learning in their classes about children, family and child development. They’re really getting to put their knowledge into practice. The Go Baby Go project allows us to truly impact children and families in the community and throughout the entire state of Georgia, by providing access to vehicles that are modified for their specific needs.”
“Go Baby Go not only brings the campus together to collaborate on a truly beautiful service project but additionally provides students with hands-on experience and the opportunity to use their skills to make a difference,” said Dr. Marcoux. “I am confident that the event changes the lives of the families we work with, but furthermore lays a practical foundation for lifelong service in our field.”
“These events foster connections among the lower- and upperclassmen in the Engineering Honors Program, education students and technical communication students, as well as faculty and staff in the School of Engineering, Department of Technical Communication and School of Education,” said Dr. McCreanor. “The Go Baby Go build events have become a highlight of the Engineering Honors Program. From an academic perspective, these events introduce and reinforce basic electronics concepts through hands-on activities and promote the service-focused nature of not only the School of Engineering but also the larger Mercer University community.”
Additionally, Mercer student-athletes volunteer at the event to provide support to fellow students and faculty as well as the children and families receiving services.
