The Invention Factory is a nontraditional youth-based, after-school program in Honolulu that teaches information technology and mechanics to teenagers through interactive, hands-on projects that improve human computer interaction for individuals with disabilities. One objective of the program is to stimulate interest in science and engineering careers among students currently underrepresented in those fields: women, native Hawaiians, students with disabilities, and at-risk students. Another objective is for students to learn enough electronics, mechanics, mathematics, and computer programming to conduct needs analysis, design, fabrication, and evaluation of devices that meet the needs of people who are disabled. The program intends to demonstrate that students who create technology-based solutions that impact people have increased motivation to pursue careers in engineering and science.