Please join us for an incredible STEM demonstration of High Tech Middle Mesa’s Play It By Ear project! Inspired by Beep Baseball and insights from the SoCal Beep Baseball Association, the team engineered game adaptions for sight-impaired students, using tech such as 3D CAD and systems engineering. Come see their work!
MAIN INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2025. Dinner will be ready by 5:30pm, with the presentation starting at 6pm.
Location: Hourglass Field House in Mira Mesa, Room J223. 10440 Black Mountain Rd, San Diego, CA 92126 (Google Maps)
Price: Free! There will be an optional dinner served with soft drinks and water at $5 INCOSE members and students, $10 non-members. RSVP
SYNOPSIS
This event will revolve around High Tech Middle Mesa’s Play It By Ear project, led by sixth-grade students and designed by teachers Dave Garcia and Nate Ewart.
This project re-imagined sports and games to ensure accessibility for all, regardless of visual ability. Inspired by Beep Baseball and insights from the SoCal Beep Baseball Association, students explored sound, light, and inclusive design to create game adaptations for sight-impaired peers. STEM and Humanities studies dove into complex concepts like physics, anatomical studies of the ear and eye, historical analysis of historical figures with disabilities, and culminated in an engineering challenge which guided students to dream up CAD-designed 3D prototypes of their inclusive games.
The 6th grade Math/Science and Humanities classes explored this question of “How do we engineer for inclusion?” by partnering closely with the visually impaired community. Students collaborated with the So Cal Beep Baseball Association and UCSD to design and engineer working beep baseballs to provide affordable equipment for this inclusive sport. After running into supply-chain issues during COVID, leagues across the U.S. found that acquiring the equipment necessary to play the sport had become increasingly difficult. By redesigning a beep baseball prototype, you will learn how Dave Garcia and Nate Ewart hope to solve this equipment shortage and increase ease of play for the sport of Beep Baseball nation-wide. Throughout Play it by Ear, students built empathy; broke stereotypes around limitations; mastered high level content on the science of sight, light, sound, and hearing; learned to solder; and 3D printed original games for the visually impaired.
BIOGRAPHIES
Nate Ewart
Nathan Ewart is a 6th Grade Humanities Project Designer at High Tech Middle Mesa, where he creates interdisciplinary learning experiences that spark curiosity and critical thinking. He holds a B.A. in History from Point Loma Nazarene University and an M.Ed. from UC Santa Barbara. Since entering the field of education, Nathan has been dedicated to helping students find joy and purpose in reading, writing, and historical inquiry. He is passionate about designing meaningful, student-centered projects that show learners the real-world impact of their voices and ideas.
Dave Garcia
David Garcia is a 6th grade math and science teacher with over a decade of experience in education. He has been part of the High Tech High organization for seven years and is a founding faculty member of High Tech Middle Mesa, which opened its doors in 2018. Passionate about project-based learning and student-centered teaching, David designs interdisciplinary experiences that spark curiosity and deepen understanding. A proud San Diego native, he brings both local roots and a global perspective to his classroom, helping students make meaningful connections between their learning and the world around them.