Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

2005

  • Work on this object began.

2017

2025

  • You found it!

Wheelchair, Motivation Rough Terrain

This is a Wheelchair. It was manufactured by Merits. It is dated 2005. Its medium is steel, wood, nylon, velcro.

This wheelchair navigates rough, unpaved, and uneven terrain, specifically in the developing world where the ground may be mud or sand. The three rather than four wheels provide extra stability when pushing, propelling, and even tipping around obstacles. Motivation’s distribution system partners with local organizations, including Peer Group Training, to assess, prescribe, and fit people in their wheelchairs, and provides support on how to be more active and independent.

It is credited Purchased by the museum for the exhibition.

  • Mobility Aid, AFARI
  • aluminum, bmx bike wheels, bike components.
  • Lent by Mobility Technologies.
  • 60.2017.1

Our curators have highlighted 6 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Racing Wheelchair
  • carbon fiber, aluminum, titanium, 3d-printed parts.
  • Lent by Designworks.
  • 40.2017.1

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 67.5 × 33.5 × 90 cm (26 9/16 × 13 3/16 × 35 7/16 in.)

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Access+Ability.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1158794947/ |title=Wheelchair, Motivation Rough Terrain |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>