ROBO-BEASTIES: A BRUSHBOT BUILDERS CHALLENGE, BRISTLING WITH FUN.

Robo-beasties was conceived as an electronics class for younger people to teach the basic principles of electric circuits and to build confidence in making simple electrical and electronic devices, however it's just so much fun that we offer it to anyone as long as you're young at heart! The activity can even be run as a contest in a similar fashion to the 'Pine-wood Derby', popular in the US, a competition where people compete to make the fastest toy car out of only a set of strictly specified components.

ACTIVITIES:

Take a battery, the vibrating motor from an old phone and the end of a toothbrush, attach it all together and you have a bristle-bot! Simple but then the customization and tuning begins and the machines transform into speed machines, maze solvers, battle-bots or even automatic art-bots. Race them, watch them wrestle, discover emergent behaviour and see how even a brainless robot bug can solve a maze, or strap pens on them and get them to generate automatic art!

Roll Up Roll Up, the Robo-Beast races are about to begin!

SKILLS

soldering engineering electronics circuit design sculpture model making craft skills fundamental design principles fundamental scientific principles

CREATIVE LEARNING

hand eye coordination and dexterity fine motor control kinaesthetic learning working with materials practical mechanics Customisation modification learn by trial and error analysis and evaluation learning through doing Iterative design exploration problem solving strategies forming and testing ideas experimentation

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

challenge effective contributor successful learner responible citizen resilience positive risk team work and helping others intergenerational learning commitment perseverance and self-belief inspiring enthusiasm the spirit of friendly competition cooperative learning collaborative learning creativity self-confidence

Our workshops are complete and mobile. We can bring all the equipment and materials required to your organisation or community space.

IT'S ALIVE, ALIVE! Colonise your community with colourful and quirky robot critters!