MYSTIC, CT - Middle schoolers in Connecticut have constructed a new boot to help make an injured penguin mobile again.

The penguin, Purps, is an endangered African penguin that injured the flexor tendon in her left leg during a fight with another bird. The now non-functional leg made it impossible for Purps to waddle around until the clever students stepped in to construct a new boot to support her.

The Mystic Middle School kids designed and created a new lightweight penguin boot using a recently-funded 3D printer purchased for the school.

“This project not only helped a member of an endangered species, but it gave our students a hands-on understanding of the 3D printing process and how to carry an idea through from a concept to a design to a usable object,” said Sue Prince, library media specialist at Mystic Middle School.

Up close, the new boot resembles a baby shoe, but it allows Purps to swim, waddle and strut like her feathered brethren.