Paternal Projects

Building community among expectant fathers as they work together, using maker tools in the construction of meaningful toys and artifacts for their unborn children.

Problem

A common refrain is that women become mothers during pregnancy while men become fathers after the child is born.  The path to motherhood is marked with doctor’s appointments, physical changes, developmental milestones, and structured mother centric activities like prenatal yoga and baby showers.  While the path to fatherhood is less defined and when defined is typically defined by the choices the mother faces.

Target Audience

Expectant fathers

Design

Paternal Projects is a multi-week workshop for expectant fathers.  The goal of the workshop is to first train the fathers in basic maker tools (3D printers, programmable micro controllers, etc.) with the goal of the fathers constructing a meaningful artifact  (toy, game, etc.) for their unborn child.

Objectives

  • Provide expectant fathers with a community of other expectant fathers, that potentially becomes a resource through the pregnancy into parenthood.
  • Engage them in projects of their own interest and motivation, in an effort to make them more authentically engaged in the welcoming of their new child.
    • Alleviate fears associated with becoming a father through changes in the participants identification as a father.