A group of industrial design students have designed a new infant crib that they believe will reduce the number of infant deaths and injuries caused by unsafe cribs.

"Each year four million babies are born in the U.S., yet only one million new cribs are sold, meaning that the vast majority of infants end up in used, and often unsafe, cribs," said Industrial Design Adjunct Professor Glenn Aaron.

"Many of the new cribs currently in the marketplace are not safe either," he added.

Aaron served as infant safety advisor to the students. Industrial Design professors John Schmidt and Tom Noonin supervised the project.

"Everybody here really believes in this product and that it is going to make a difference in the world," said Schmidt, who chairs Metro State's Engineering Technology and Industrial Design program.

Made of a newly developed reinforced fiberboard, the crib exceeds all federal safety standards and is highly affordable, thereby reducing new parents' reliance on used cribs.

The crib is made of a new type of reinforced fiberboard called structural laminated fiberboard and is assembled using a new process, called enfolding, to join the various components. Fully assembled, the crib can easily be carried by one person and fits through a doorway, measuring 29 inches wide, 44 inches long and 23 inches high. It is also recyclable.

"Most importantly, the crib is affordable and will sell for about $50, including the mattress," Aaron said. "The crib designed by Metro students will provide parents an affordable, safe alternative to hand-me-down or garage sale cribs."

Denver-based Basic Comfort, a distributor of baby products, will market the crib and will exhibit the crib at the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association international show in Dallas May 3-5. The crib, which will be manufactured by Weyerhauser, is expected to be available near the end of this year.

According to the Danny Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on preventing injuries and deaths from unsafe cribs, baby cribs are involved in more infant and toddler deaths than any other juvenile product. Every year, more than 30 children die from crib injuries and more than 12,000 children require hospital treatment for crib-related injuries.

"The Metro student design is the safest crib on the market," said Aaron, a member of the Danny Foundation who has served as an expert witness on infant furniture, serves on the Underwriters Laboratories standards committee on baby cribs and is a member of the state's Consumer Product Safety Committee.

Industrial design students are now in the process of reviewing new concepts for use in generating safer designs for high chairs, toy boxes, toddler beds, co-sleepers, changing tables, storage units and other children's products.

Aaron and the student designers will display the crib Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon in room 121 of the Technology Building. For more information about the cribs contact Aaron at 303-556-2916.