Frequently Asked Questions:

What is a Design Challenge?

A design challenge is an open-ended project based on a “How Might We” question that encourages participants to ask questions, think creatively, work together, and develop solutions for challenging questions. The question for Penn State Hershey’s Design Challenge is based on a previous OpenIDEO challenge. OpenIDEO is a global community that works together to design solutions for the world’s biggest challenges. You will develop your solution with your team by working through the design thinking process.

How should I prepare for the Design Challenge?

The design question is very broad and needs to be broken down a bit before you can actually begin the design process or to think of any possible solutions. Below are a series of steps you should take to prepare for the Design Challenge so that we can jump right into the design thinking process on June 13^th:

Step 1: Read Mayo Clinic’s Challenge Brief and Setting the Stage to learn about the 3 stages of life and 11 questions.

Step 2: Select a stage of life and specific “How Might We” Question you or your team would like to address. For individual registrants, we will spend the first few minutes organizing teams based on the stage of life you would like to address.

Step 3: Explore Factors that Impact Aging

Step 4: Find Inspiration – check out 316 insights, examples, stories, and comments from around the world including Multigenerational Playgrounds, The Amazings, and The Senior Design Factory

Step 5: Come ready to design your solution on June 13^th

Please contact me (rklinger1@hmc.psu.edu) if you have any questions. 

What is expected from the participants during the Design Challenge?

Participants will be expected to work together in teams of 3 to 6 on the Day of Making. The teams will work through the design thinking process to develop a solution for the question: How might we all maintain wellbeing and thrive as we age? On June 13^th, your team will be guided through a 90 minute session using the design thinking process. You will begin the event by sharing stories, searching for meaning, and framing opportunities. Your team will then begin to generate and refine your ideas. Using your ideas, you will prototype a possible solution and then test your prototype with the larger group to receive feedback.  

What are Maker Stations?

A Maker Station is a mix between a Maker Faire and a Show and Tell event. It is a way to celebrate the Maker Movement and to showcase the new technologies that will be featured in the Harrell Health Sciences Library post-renovation. There will be a series of 6 stations featuring new technologies that you can stop by, learn about, and experiment with. Each station will be led by a faculty or staff member of Penn State Hershey.   

Why is the library holding the event?

The Library is hosting this event to help launch the National Week of Making and to showcase the new educational technology spaces and services that will be featured in the post-renovated Harrell Health Sciences Library. The library is dedicated to serving the institutional use of these spaces and providing support in using new technologies and creating media-rich projects. In the post-renovation library, users will have access to fabrication tools via the new 3D printers and 3D scanner; data visualization via the new high performance workstations and the 3x3 tiled video wall; audio/video recording via the new One Button Studio; and audio/video editing via 5 new post-production Macs.