Step by Step is a children’s saw that encourages safe, hands-on crafting with wood from an early age while supporting motor skills, creativity, and a sense of autonomy and achievement through independent making.
Define the problem/need you are solving or addressing with your project. How does it address the Open Call criteria, such as environmental impact, social engagement, circularity, user experience, resource efficiency, and community-driven solutions?
Children today spend more time on screens and less time exploring their physical environment. This leads to underdeveloped fine motor skills, reduced creativity, and a disconnect from real-world, hands-on learning. Step by Step responds to this issue by introducing a safe, intuitive tool that encourages early engagement with tactile materials like wood. The design supports autonomy, giving children trust and responsibility while learning to craft and create independently. Beyond using renewable materials, the project sees sustainability as a mindset – helping raise a generation that values making, repairing, and using tools with confidence. Its safety-focused design, including color-coded steps and guided 2-handed operation, reduces risk and frustration, making it accessible to a wide range of users. The saw empowers young makers, enhances user experience through clarity and structure, and provides a foundation for lifelong creative confidence.
Please describe your project, reflecting on the concept, inspiration, materials, technical aspects, methods and process(es).
Step by Step is a children’s saw designed to make hands-on crafting accessible, intuitive, and safe for kids aged four and up. The design simplifies woodworking into four clear steps: measuring, inserting wood, clamping, and sawing. Each step is color-coded to guide the process and help children work independently. Every action requires both hands in designated, safe positions to ensure that no hand can end up in a risky area. The saw uses guided mechanics to keep the cut precise and prevent slipping, reducing frustration while working. With materials chosen for their durability, the development process included multiple rounds of prototyping and testing to refine ergonomics, usability, and safety.
What do you think makes your project innovative compared to the existing efforts and ideas in the field it addresses?
Unlike most children’s tools, which are either overly simplified or completely non-functional, Step by Step bridges the gap between real tool use and age-appropriate safety. Its innovation lies in how it supports full independence without compromising on safety – children can carry out the complete woodworking process by themselves. The structured, step-by-step design with color-coded elements provides clarity and reduces the potential for mistakes, while guided mechanics and two-handed operation ensure safe use throughout. Many existing solutions focus either on imitation or protection, often removing the child from the experience of real making. This saw aims to maintain the authenticity of the task while adapting it to the needs and abilities of young users. By building confidence and familiarity with tools and materials like wood, it not only supports creativity in the present, but also prepares children to repair, build, and engage with sustainable practices in the future.
Does it impact or reflect young people need(s) and how?
Step by Step reflects a core need among young people: the desire to explore, create, and feel capable. In a world that increasingly encourages passive digital consumption, it offers a rare opportunity for physical engagement and independent action. By making woodworking safe, approachable, and rewarding, it gives children a sense of ownership and agency. They are trusted with a real task, not just a simulation, and that builds confidence and curiosity. The project also recognizes that meaningful making can start early. When children are given tools that match their abilities, they begin to understand materials, develop coordination, and experience the satisfaction of shaping something themselves. This early connection to creating and repairing supports both personal development and a mindset of self-reliance that can grow with them into the future.
