Wootton Primary School

On the 30th April 2012 the junkbots project went to Wootton Primary's STEM club. The task was challenging to design and to build junkbots that can draw in less than 45 minutes...and they did.

Great work and some engineers/technologists for the future.

Thank you to Mrs Meadows and all the children of the STEM club for inviting me.

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Prezi overview of Junkbots

Junkbots on Prezi

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Fun - Drawing junkbot

Here is a junkbot my 7-year old son and I came up with at the weekend. A bit of fun - a junkbot that draws based on a bashed up drinks can, pens, straws, motor, broken fan and lots of tape!

The last picture has some of the shapes the junkbots produced.

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

junkbots goes to Roade

Friday 16th March 2012, the junkbots project moved to year 6 at Roade Primary School. 


The aim was to Look in to how to use electric motors to make junk move, along with the effect of weight, surface contact effects and positioning of the weights. The task was to make something that could move along a table as quickly as possible.

Good example is the 'sleigh' shown above, a mixture of straws, yoghurt pots, pens, plastics and electric motors. What was especially good about this one was - it went in a straight line, shaking its way along and even carried its batteries. This was especially good as usually these junkbots have a tendency to spin around. The group that developed this one investigated repositioning the batteries, thereby adjusting the weight to get it to travel in a straight line.


Thank you to the year 6 at Roade Primary School for inviting me, lots of budding engineers there.


If you want to know more about Junkbots please contact: scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

Junkbots goes South...South End infants school

This week the junkbots idea were taken to South End Infant School, Rushden, Northamptonshire as part of their Science week....and it was good fun for me as well. 


In three groups they played with:
- The hovercraft idea that Hayley developed (http://junkbots-hayleystevenson.blogspot.com/2011/08/hovercraft-do-i-need-motor.html). Basically a balloon, CD and a sports bottle top, that floats across a table.
- The basic junkbot - A drinks can, two markers, broken propeller, a motor and battery pack,
- The new junkbot takes basic the junkbot and rearranges so it stands on the pen tips. Now add a third pen and we have a less elegant Picassobot. Start it up on some paper and (hopefully) watch it wriggle and draw.


All this in one hour!

Junkbot videos - Hayley's work

A collection of videos from Hayley Stevenson's junkbots work including insect-like robots

And here is what it drew:

Taken from: http://junkbots-hayleystevenson.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html

Taken from: http://junkbots-hayleystevenson.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-9-fan-racer-comes-to-life.html

Junkbots and lego robots combined:

 taken from:  http://junkbots-hayleystevenson.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-18-my-last-day.html 

Here is the video summarising her work:

Junkbots video

A Video montage of Hayley Stevenson's work on the Junkbots can be found at see http://junkbots-hayleystevenson.blogspot.com.