Teachable moments: Let's build a Robot! We'll call it "Bob"

Another late night, feeling bored.  Hey, wait!  We can build a Robot.

Parts you need:

• A few small servos
• Some batteries or a power supply
• A radio control unit and receiver

First we need to make the gripper so the Robot can pick things up.  Use a hot glue gun (Low temperature, please) and stick together some sponge and popsicle sticks.

Then we stick on the first part of the arm - then the second.  It's like a real arm!

Just for fun we put the whole thing on a spindle so that it can turn. Stick it all to a base of cardboard or foamboard and "VIOLA" - a Robot arm.

We adjusted the remote controller so that the movement of the controls matched the direction of the Robot.

His name is "Bob".  How come robots are always given boys' names?  We dunno but it seemed to fit.
He seems to have a personality. 

Next:  Give him some googly eyes and clothes :)

Playdough sculpture

Paige did this sculpture using Playdoh.  It is sea monster with a long body. It's interesting to see how she visualized the part that would be exposed above the water

Progress with animation tools

Here is an example of animation that Paige did using Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and Jasc Animator

It shows sketchlines and various frames that are combined to show a cat walking.  Ask her about "Warriors" and you will get an avalanche of discussion on the imaginary social life of cats.

She also has quite a passion for sharks.  Paige, Ellie and Mommy had a great movie time recently where they watched the documentary "Shark Water" - you can go to Paige's blog for more on this topic.  NOTE: some of the pictures are not for the light hearted. Uurgh.

Accomplished artist Terri Austin Beech is currently helping Paige to improve her drawing skills