First Grade, Robotics Science Experiments (Page 5)

Build a Fuzzy Companion Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Snuggling a dog or cat can make you feel better even when you are not lonely or sick. Therapy and companion animals are also used for patients in health care settings, but sometimes you cannot always have access to a real live animal. Can a robot serve the same purpose? Find out in this project when you add an Arduino to a stuffed animal to build a purring companion robot. Read more

Build an Obstacle-Avoiding Robot (BlueBot Project #4)

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

In the animal kingdom, many different critters use whiskers to help them find their way around in the dark, through murky waters, or even to help them hunt prey. Whiskers can be very useful when the animals cannot rely on sight. Did you know that you can also build a robot that uses "whiskers" to find its way around? This project will show you how to build a simple robot that uses whiskers as "bump sensors" to help the robot detect when it is about to bump into an obstacle, so it can turn… Read more

Clean Up The Water with a Trash-Skimming Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Engineers are trying to tackle the world's ocean pollution problem using robots. Some robots, like Mr. Trash Wheel and the ship featured in this Mark Rober video, are stationary and collect trash as it flows out of rivers before it gets into the ocean. Others, like the Jellyfishbot, are mobile and can squeeze into narrower spaces to collect trash: Can you build and test your own trash-skimming robot? If you do not have access to a natural body of water to test it in, you can use a bathtub or a… Read more

Control Motors with Your Muscles!

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever wished you could control your own suit of power armor like Iron Man? What about building a set of Wolverine-like retractable claws? You can get started by using electromyography (EMG) sensors, which can measure the tiny electrical signals generated by our muscles when they contract (Figure 1). You can interface these sensors with a microcontroller like an Arduino and use the output to control LEDs or motors. Getting these sensors to work can be tricky. The electrical signals… Read more

Exploring the Uncanny Valley

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What do you consider creepy? Clowns? Zombies? Video game characters with jerky movement? In 1970, a roboticist by the name of Masahiro Mori suggested that people are "creeped out" by robots that are almost, but not exactly, humanlike. He called this phenomena the uncanny valley. But researchers are still exploring and defining the uncanny valley. In this science project, you can do your own exploration—just try not to creep your friends out too badly! Read more

Make Soft Robotic Skin

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

When you think about robots, do you think of something made from metal? What if robots could have stretchy, flexible skin just like humans? How would they detect when someone tapped them on the shoulder or something rubbed against their arm? In this project, you will learn how to make artificial robotic skin using flexible rubber with an embedded conductive fabric. You can also connect the artificial skin to a microcontroller and use it to control outputs like LEDs or motors. Read more

Motorizing a Robotic Hand

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Imagine how cool it would be to have your own motorized robot hand. Well, stop imagining and turn that daydream into reality! Start out by designing and building a robot hand. The Science Buddies project Grasping With Straws: Make a Robot Hand Using Drinking Straws shows you a simple way to make a robot hand with drinking straws, or you can design a robot hand from any other materials you think are suitable. Your hand design will need sewing threads, or some other mechanism, for motors to… Read more

A Robot Waiter That Can Carry Drinks

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever seen a waiter balance an entire tray of drinks without spilling any? How do they do it? Do you think you could build a robot waiter that can do the same thing? In this project, you will learn how to build a self-balancing robotic tray. You can incorporate the auto-leveling tray into one of our many other robotics projects, like the Bluebot or robotic arm. Read more

Bristlebot Shape and Motion Tracking

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Bristlebots are tiny little robots with no "brain." They are powered by vibrations and move around randomly. Even if there is no brain, can you still influence how they move by changing their design? Find out in this fun robotics project! Read more

Build a Color-Detecting Rover

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers use scientific instruments, nicknamed ChemCam (Figure 1) and SuperCam respectively, to help them analyze the composition of rocks and soil on Mars. You can learn more about these cameras from the resources in the Bibliography, and more about why scientists want to analyze rocks on Mars from the video on this page. Figure 1. The two main parts of the ChemCam instrument on the Mars Curiosity rover. For a science… Read more

First Grade, Robotics Science Experiments (82 results)

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