For this activity, we were put into partners and instructed to create a robot that draws through its movements. My partner and I grabbed an empty container and started constructing our bot by turning it upside down and using the bottom as our surface for building. We attached the battery pack and motor and decided to break a popsicle stick to create a smaller weight to offset our bot. We attached that to the rotating part of the motor and instead of using a binder clip for a switch, we decided that a paperclip would be more productive for our bot. The motors have small prongs with holes inside of them in the back where the wires are meant to attach. With the switch, all we have to do to turn it on and off is stick the paperclip in that hole or remove it.

With our project we got a little carried away with experimentation. So much so that we had forgotten to use our word (deceitful) for our bots concept. In the end we added an emoji face to try and get the point across, but most of our process was spent using different materials with our bot to see what was possible. At first we used markers, as was in the example.

We liked the thin and slightly skittery marks they created but it got us wondering what would happen if we used brushes instead. We rummaged through the cupboards and decided to use brushes and watercolours to attach to our bot. We found that in order to get the bot to still move we had to also attach either markers or watercolour pencils to be taller so that the brushes didnt dig into the paper and get stuck.

The end results were pretty fun!

We also tried experimenting with acrylic paint but the bot would get to stuck and wouldn’t make interesting marks but it tried.

All in all it was a very fun activity that led to a lot of exploration and experimentation with what was possible and the materials we had around the room. I think this would be a great activity to implement in schools to really help kids understand motors and have fun while creating.