Idea: create an engaging story such as a fairy-tale where
little robots have to perform tasks to achieve the goal EG: find the treasure
or rescue the princess.
How it works: A scene for a story is made using models and
landscapes each robot is designed with a function such as one has the ability
to grab or push, one could make a sound to scare off a magical dragon for
example. As the story is told obstacles are placed which can be fix from the
help of the robots.
The group will have to decide which robot will be the best
to be used to overcome the obstacle for example there could be a boulder
blocking the path which would need pushing away from the robot with that
ability.
Character names could be given to each of the robots to make
the workshop more fun and engaging to children.
Benefits of
workshop
After the story has
been told children could still dismantle the robots to see how they work being
asked questions such as why was this robot able to push, pull, sing etc etc , As the exercise is introduced in story form
other elements can be incorporated to keep attention such as children can be
asked to participate by clapping to give the robots confidence or costumes
could be worn. Personalising the Robots into characters for the story may also
encourage children to engage, Activities could be given after such as another
story on paper where children have to fill in the blanks and decide for
themselves which robot would be best suited for the task, encouraging them to
think about logic and movement, design sheets could also be provided with basic
templates allowing the children to modify the characters themselves.
