First Graders Explore Biomechanics with Ritchie School Researchers
How are muscle forces measured? What is a motion capture technology? These were just a few questions explored by eager first graders from the University of Denver Rick’s Center for Gifted Children when they visited the Ritchie School Human Dynamics Laboratory to celebrate National Biomechanics Day.
National Biomechanics Day, officially on April 9th, 2025, is a worldwide event where biomechanics experts teach young people about biomechanics and its impact on society. The students from Rick’s Center were excited to come to the laboratory to expand on their “Under the Skin” unit and learn about musculoskeletal modeling. The students explored hands-on research stations to understand the tools researchers use to create musculoskeletal models.
The students kicked off their learning journey with graduate student Cameron Dahman, who showed them how muscle forces are measured with EMG sensors placed over the muscles. The students tried it out, seeing how their muscle activity was measured and learning that the sensors only measured local muscle activity.
Next, the students learned about motion capture with postdoctoral researcher Dr. Julia Dunn. They wore reflective motion capture markers to see how their movements were captured by cameras in the lab. The best part? They got to experiment with embedded force plates and try to control the forces they produced when jumping and landing. They even drew inspiration from their favorite superheroes on how to land gently.
Their adventure didn’t stop there! They learned to combine human movement and muscle activity to explore musculoskeletal modeling. With graduate student Brendan Curran, they built their own musculoskeletal models of fingers using household items. They discussed the strengths and weaknesses of their models before seeing the computational musculoskeletal model of a human shoulder developed in the lab.
Our researchers had fun sharing their knowledge with the students from the Rick’s Center. As we celebrate National Biomechanics Day 2025, one thing is clear: Innovation starts with curious minds!
Ritchie School postdoctoral researcher Dr. Julia Dunn sharing her knowledge with first graders from the University of Denver Rick’s Center for Gifted Children.
