I.Maker.365.

brush bots

Brush bots are the simplest of the small bot projects and are suitable for kids ages 6 and up. They are a little bugs with big appeal.

The materials needed are simple, a tooth brush, a vibrating cell-phone motor, a coin battery holder, and a battery. I started noticing that maker-y type companies are selling the parts prepackaged, but I prefer hacking the parts together. There’s something about cutting the handle off a real tooth bush to hack a robot that really gets the kids going.

 The brush bot can be assembled in 15-20 minutes and then the games begin. After making the critters we create obstacle course and race tracks for them to compete.

 
The girl in the previous post is playing with a brush bot. Here’s a picture of what the look like assembled.

The Party Maker Guy

A couple of months ago my neighbor Tracy recruited me as a judge for RoboExpo 2013. Tracy is a public school teacher and has been developing the robotics curriculum for the New York City School system, is a part of the Mokindo Maker Space, and happens to be my next-door neighbor. The Expo took place at the United Nations Schools with kids from all over the city. What a blast. Working with the kids and their robots was amazing.

After the event I started thinking, and with some spontaneous input from my good friend Charles, landed on an idea. Parents all over New York City are in a constant search to find something to do with a gaggle of kids at the next party. I want to work with them, I may entertain them along the way, but mostly I wanted them to leave the party with a head full of ideas as much as a bag full of loot.

Bouncing this idea off Tracy, we gave some thought to the types of projects I might offer. I wanted to be able to cover a couple of different ages group, genders, and learning styles. To that end, Toby Vann, the Maker Guy is now offering the 6 party activities for your next birthday party. Over the next 3 days I will be posting information about each activities that fall into 3 basic groups; small bots, blinky lights, and playful circuits.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about Small Bots, but as a preview here’s an adorable girl telling me about her the brush bot critter she just made during RoboExpo.