Kentucky Teacher Scott Johnson Creates Prosthetic Hand For A Student

Photo by Fiona Morgan / Kentucky Department of Education

Student Jackson Farmer was born without a right hand. Enter his teacher Scott Johnson.

Farmer had been wearing a rubber hand for appearances, but it had no function.

Background

In Scott Johnson’s STEAM lab, a simple question—what if a school 3D printer could change a student’s daily life—slowly turned into a quiet, year-long experiment in hope. Behind the scenes, he began exploring whether he could build something that would actually move, grip, and help Jackson in ways a rubber hand never could.

Noticing the Rubber Hand

Red Cross Elementary School Teacher Scott Johnson noticed that one of his kindergarten students, Jackson Farmer, had been wearing a rubber hand to make it look like he had a hand since he was born without one of his hands.

Johnson teaches science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics, which in short means he is a STEAM teacher.

Part of his lab curriculum involves teaching students how to use one of the 11 3D printers that were in the STEAM lab. Johnson began to wonder if he could use the 3D printer to make a prosthetic hand for Farmer.

Connecting With the e-Nable Community

So he began communications through the E-Nable community, “an online global community of volunteers who are using 3D printers to make free and low-cost prosthetic limb devices for children and adults in need.” He contacted an engineer from Denmark and sent over some of his design files, hoping for feedback.

Johnson said, “For the longest time, I didn’t tell anyone other than my wife what I was working on. What if I found out I was trying to do something far beyond my skill set? I didn’t want to falsely get anyone’s hopes up.”

He did not tell Farmer what he was working on for almost a year of trial and error. When Johnson was finally confident with the work he had done, he printed a 3D prototype and showed it to Farmer and his mother.

They gave him the green light to create a full hand using 3D-printed materials. It took 25 hours to print the finalized parts of the hand in the STEAM lab, and another 4 hours to put it together.

The great thing about the prosthetic hand is that it does not require batteries or a source of power. It is simply powered through the bending motion of Farmer’s wrist.

To see how volunteers around the world are creating free 3D-printed hands and arms, visit the e-NABLE community.

For more stories about how everyday kindness can change lives, explore The Power of Kindness: How It Can Truly Change Your Life on DivsFeed.

How It Turned Out

Years after that first rubber hand in kindergarten, Farmer finally got to try on a hand that could actually move with him. What started as a private experiment on a classroom 3D printer became a device that lets him grab, hold, and play in ways he had only imagined.

A Hand That Finally Works

Johnson first noticed the rubber hand when Farmer was in kindergarten. Now Farmer is in fourth grade and finally has a functioning prosthetic hand.

The fingers are attached to the prosthetic wrist by fishing lines and use a fulcrum lever to move. When Farmer flexes his wrist down, the fingers close. When he relaxes his wrist, the hand opens back up.

Farmer was excited to try it and had been wanting a kind of working hand for a long while. He reports that the hand has been working very well and it did not take him a long time to get accustomed to using it.

He said, “It felt great. It felt like it was just right.” He said it feels good to be able to pick up more things and do things he could not do before.

Johnson said, “I never wanted him to feel like he had something heavy on his wrist; I want him to be able to play, so it’s pretty lightweight.”

Design Details and Cost

The main parts of the prosthetic are printed out of corn plastic, but there is more that went into it. Johnson got rubber fingertips and used foam on the inside to make it softer on Farmer’s skin.

He also used screws and fishing lines as well as small orthodontic rubber bands for the tension in the fingers. Now you would assume that a fully-functioning prosthetic hand would cost a fortune, but you would be wrong.

All of the materials cost between $20-$30. Johnson also keeps spare parts as well as back-up hands in the STEAM lab so if one part breaks, it can easily be replaced.

He is able to reprint a larger hand for Farmer as he continues to grow. The icing on the cake is that Johnson has taught Farmer how to 3D print and shared the files so he would be able to reprint the hand on his own once he is out of the school system.

For more on how this project came together in the school’s 3D-printing lab, see the feature from the Kentucky Department of Education, “Barren County teacher created prosthetic hand for his student using school’s 3D printing lab.”

If you’re curious about the ripple effects of caring actions like this, you might enjoy The Science Of Kindness: Why Doing Good Feels Amazing.

Life for Jackson Farmer Now

With his new hand, Jackson is not just getting used to a piece of equipment—he’s learning a new way of moving through the world. Day by day, he is discovering what this lightweight, flexible device lets him try for himself.

A Teacher’s Impact Beyond the Classroom

Farmer is currently in fourth grade and has been learning under Johnson all the while. Johnson has changed his life for the better, and the Farmer family is grateful for all he has done.

He had the means to make the prosthetic with the 3D printers at school and worked tirelessly to make it a reality. It certainly could not have been easy, and there were times that he doubted himself and wondered if he had taken on a project that he may not be able to complete.

Now Farmer says, “(My favorite thing is) trying to write (with the hand)…I’m not that good, but I try.” He has been adjusting to the hand since it was 3D-printed for him, but it seems like he has it all under control.

For more gentle encouragement on practicing care—for yourself and others—see 10 Simple Ways to Practice Self-Kindness Every Day.