The majority of students in my class have wheelchairs, so finding ways to adapt my classroom has been a constant work in progress. My room has a sensory room and one of the first things I built for it is a sensory stand. I hang different items on it for sensory input, including texturized balls, balloons, lights, etc. and students with wheelchairs and sit below it and explore!
Here's the tutorial:
Materials:
-1" PVC pipe in following lengths:
-(2) 5 foot pieces
-(1) 3 1/2 foot piece
-(4) 1 foot pieces
-PVC pipe cement/glue
-(2) 1" 90 degree angle elbow
-(2) 1" Tee
-(4) 1" caps
*Make sure that you get the PVC fittings that DO NOT have the threading
**Any hardware store will have these materials. If you don't have a PVC pipe cutter, they will normally cut the pipe for you. All of the materials (including the cement) come to about $14.
I didn't take pictures of the actual building process, so I will try to explain it:
-Glue a 1 ft. piece of pipe to each end of the bottom of the Tee piping. Make sure that you work fast with the glue, it dries VERY quickly.
-Glue the caps onto the 4 ends of the 1 ft. pipes.
-At the top of the Tee piping, glue the 5 ft. pipe.
-At the top of the 5 ft. pipe, glue the 90 degree elbow. NOTE: make sure that the bottom legs of the stand are perpendicular to the elbow.
-You will do these steps one more time to make the second leg of the stand.
-Last, you just attach the two legs with the 3 1/2 ft. piece.
Here is the finished product!
Feel free to ask questions. I hope this is a good addition to some other classrooms!