Projects on Robots for Kids - From Teachers to Parents

Projects on Robots for Kids - From Teachers to Parents

Robots have always been interesting to humans of all ages. But, more than ever before, kids are absolutely fascinated with the concept of robots – this is because nowadays, robotics is everywhere. From “robot cheetahs” to medical robots that save lives, we’ve made some incredible progress over the past few years. You can find awesome robots in almost every industry in the world! Robots for kids are more accessible than ever before, too. There’s no better time to help your kids explore their interests by starting to experiment with building robots at home. With a massive boost in STEM funding for schools across the country, robotics for kids clubs are becoming more widespread. Robotics is a good way to have your kids develop an interest in STEM too. You can find a robotics club at many elementary schools now, whereas it used to be reserved for older students like high schoolers. There are even more tools than ever before to help your kids learn to build robots at home!

Teachers who host robotics clubs highly recommend practicing at home. Building simple robotics projects in their own bedroom is a great way to further your children’s interest in robotics and STEM. It also lets you spend time bonding with your kids, help them begin to find their hobbies, and improve their engineering skills. It’s a ton of fun to create something out of their own hands! Building robots for kids is an awesome way to help your kids explore tactile engineering, and it’s an awesome, educational activity for the whole family. We’ve put together a list of the top 5 robotics projects for kids as recommended by teachers to parents. As a great tip for new robotics teachers as well, we recommend using Share-A-Cart to send lists of project supplies to parents! This will help them avoid any confusion regarding what to buy.

Keep in mind that these are definitely beginner projects. As your kids grow up and continue pursuing STEM, they will begin to pursue more complicated robot projects.

Wobblebot

Wobblebot is a simple robot that shakes by force of kinetic energy from the motor. This is an easy project for young kids that doesn’t require a lot of supervision, and it’s pretty quick. It’s a great beginner project that’s also a ton of fun! It’s also super customizable, so they can decorate it however they like at the end!

They’ll need two AAA batteries, a CD (keep in mind it's not going to be usable after this), googly eyes, insulation tape, insulated wire, one battery holder, a hot glue gun, needle-nose pliers, a clear plastic dome-shaped lid, an on/off switch and a 3V DC motor.

Instructions:

1. First, have your kids use the needle-nose pliers to slightly bend the ends of the insulated wire. Then, using the needle-nose pliers, have them attach that bent piece of wire to the motor’s lead and the switch’s lead, respectively.
2. Using the needle-nose pliers, slightly bend the piece of wire from the battery pack and attach it to the other lead on the motor (the one that wasn’t touched in the previous step).
3. Next, have your child hot glue their motor onto the CD.
4. When the battery pack is good to go and secured in the holder, your kids should use the insulated tape to stick the battery pack to the motor and CD. At this point, the switch should be the only loose electrical piece.
5. Pop the dome-shaped lid over the motor and battery pack. The switch should be sticking through the top of the lid. 1.Decorate! Robot projects for kids definitely involve a lot of creativity. Let them stick googly eyes to the wobblebot (who says it only has to be two?), stickers, or use markers to color the lid.
6. Turn on the switch and watch it dance!

Here's the complete list of supplies. This list has been created with Share-A-Cart. Share-A-Cart is a free tool that helps you share the entire cart with anyone else with only a single click on dozens of online retailers and millions of web stores. Simple. Easy. Faster shopping for all.

The Walking Robot

This is a great robot for kids who want to try something that seems really complicated, but is actually super simple! Every step is really straightforward (pun intended). This is an easy project that will let your kids really see how cool it is to create a robot. The only complex part of this is cutting the popsicle sticks the same length so that the robot doesn’t topple over when it walks. This robots project will help kids understand more about motion and balance as well.

The supplies needed are a 5V DC motor, a hot glue gun, thumbtacks, popsicle sticks, rubber tubes, a ruler, and a battery pack.

1. Cut the popsicle sticks! Make sure both sides are flat on the ones that require cutting. You’ll need two full-length sticks (don’t cut these), four 5cm sticks, two 7.5cm sticks, two 1.5cm sticks, and one 6.5cm stick.
2. Poke tiny holes in the 1.5cm sticks that are very slightly off-center. Connect them to the sides of the motor so the holes are on opposite ends.
3. Cut the rubber tubes so that they’re about as long as a nail. Take the 6.5cm stick and hot glue two rubber tubes on it so that the flat, curved side is attached to the stick. Glue both on each end. Hot glue the motor, between the rubber tubes, to the stick.
4. Do this step twice: Take the two 5cm sticks and place them parallel to each other. Hot glue each to an end on the same side of the 7.5cm stick. It should look like a capital “I”. This is your base!
5. Do this step twice: Take the full-length popsicle stick and hot glue it to the center of the base you just made.
6. Slide the part of the full-length stick that isn’t attached to the base into the rubber sleeve. In the middle where the pierced holes meet, place a thumb pin to hold the leg securely onto the motor. Do this with the other base structure on the alternating side of the motor.
7. Start the motor! Your robot should be walking freely.

You can get the full list of times for this project to buy or to share.

Electric Motor Robotic Science Kits

This is a great alternative for busy parents or those on a budget to help them explore robotics with their kids! The Giggleway Electric Motor Kit gives you all the pieces you need to help your kids further their interest in robotics, as well as enhance their STEM and engineering interests. This robotics project is great for kids of all ages, and it comes with step-by-step directions too.

It comes with three brightly-colored robots, all of which have different functions. This will certainly motivate your child’s enthusiasm for STEM. As this robot project is simple to assemble for kids, there won’t be any frustration while building.

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