Mikayla Burtch
mburtch@ltu.edu Website LinkedInMikayla is a senior pursuing a Bachelor’s in industrial design at Lawrence Technological University. With years of experience working with families and her community for over seven years through childcare, retail work, community service, and as a resident assistant, she uses these skills to create engaging, user-centered designs. In her work, she uses her team building, leadership, and customer service skills to be an effective team player, along with her proficiencies in Rhinoceros 3D and various Adobe programs. In her daily life, she currently works as a senior resident assistant on campus, an actor for the Society of Dramatic Arts, and enjoys creative writing and tabletop RPGs.
TITLE 
Kitchen of Wonder
MajorProduct Design [BFA]
DescriptionLet me take you back to a place we can all relate to. Sitting on the floor or at a tiny table, daydreaming about adventures of our own making. Where we took our toys and mixed and matched them to fit our experiences. What if there was a toy that children could interact with and use to create their own custom experiences as we did so long ago?
Kitchen of Wonder aims to capture a feeling of childhood curiosity and wonder in a toy. It also aims to offer many years of play and the means for children to create their own experiences and solutions. This toy functions as a play kitchen that reacts to the ingredients placed in the pot by offering different lights and sounds to what goes in the pot. Kids can then further customize their own experiences by adding ingredients to the recipe book and choosing how the toy will react to that ingredient. This customizable toy seeks to engage children for years to come and the technology can further expand to fit into different experiences outside of a kitchen playspace.