Six engineering students at Brigham Young University are trying to make a difference with their senior project.

They created a merry-go-round that also produces electricity. The playground equipment will be used to provide energy to light schoolhouses in Africa.

The idea came from Ben and Julie Markham. They served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ghana and noticed two needs: The children had no playground equipment and the children studied in dark classrooms.

"It was so dark, I couldn't read my scriptures," Ben Markham said.

The schools have no windows. The only light comes through an open door.

The BYU students began working on the project in September as part of their capstone class, a required yearlong course near the end of their schooling.

The merry-go-round looks like two circles, one inside the other. The children will be able to run between the circles, pushing the merry-go-round, and create power.

Matthew Vogel, a mechanical engineering student who worked on the project, said the hardest part was finding a way to generate energy from the children's movements.

The students created a custom device that takes energy from the moving children and creates enough speed to power the generator. From there, the electricity is stored in deep-cycle batteries until it is needed to light the schoolhouse.

Vogel thinks the equipment will have an impact.

"It will change Africa," Vogel said.

Project leader Adrian Williams said creating something that will help people was something that set this group apart from other capstone projects.

"This one right here is going to be able to change lives," Williams said.

The device is made of old car parts. The team wanted to use materials that would be accessible in Africa. The center of the merry-go-round is a truck axle, and the flywheel came from a car transmission.

Another aim of the project was to create something that would empower people to provide for themselves. With this device, Williams said, the children will be able to light their own schoolhouse and help themselves.

The playground equipment will be used in Africa as soon as next year. Markham has made some contacts in Africa and is trying to start a nonprofit organization.

"I'm very happy right now. We have a merry-go-round that kids can have fun on and will light a classroom," Markham said.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.