Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Go, Gadget, Go! Building Robots With Lego Mindstorms

For Students 9th - 10th
In the mid-20th century, people thought of robots as futuristic tools. But in the 21st century, robots are not a figment of our imaginations, but are a part of our reality. Robots even perform tasks that humans can't do. In this...
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Programming a Robot

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad breaks down an action into a series of steps in order to program a robot to do what they need it to do. [4:50]
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: The Intelligent Robot

For Students 9th - 10th
In this segment from Curious, learn how a robot is a machine that can connect with its surroundings and has some level of autonomy.
Interactive
BBC

Bbc: Science & Nature: Robots

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about different kinds of robots as you build them in five interactive simulations.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Build a Robotic Face

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Build a robotic face that can make facial expressions using simple machines on this website. This website includes the challenge, tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Design a Robotic Arm

For Students Pre-K - 1st
A challenge that asks students to move a marble, a straw, and a coin from the table into a cup using a robotic arm they designed. The site includes a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their design process.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Safe Stopping Robot

For Students Pre-K - 1st
A challenge for students to design and engineer a robot that turns itself off when it leaves a safe area. This challenge contains tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Creating a Robot (2 Days)

For Teachers 6th - 7th
What do tin foil, surface area, and rectangular prisms make? A tin foil robot of course! This lesson includes practice problems about surface area, worksheets, a video explanation, and a reflection sheet.
Article
Society for Science and the Public

Science News for Students: Color Changing Robot

For Students 3rd - 8th
Scientists at Harvard University recently invented a robot shaped like the letter "X" that can change its color to blend in with its surroundings. While this robot is currently limited to operating within a laboratory, it could...
Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: 7.rp Robot Races

For Teachers 7th
This lesson plan allows students to explore proportional relationships using information from robot races.
Website
NASA

Nasa: What Is Stereo Vision?

For Students 3rd - 5th
The robots NASA sends to explore other planets need two good eyes, just like humans. Learn why through this simple exercise.
Interactive
NASA

Nasa: Space Place: Dsn Uplink Downlink: A Dsn Game

For Students 3rd - 8th
Use big antennas to send information to and receive information from NASA's robotic explorers in the solar system and beyond.
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Robots Alive! Toddler's First Steps

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Investigate the physics involved in balancing.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Piloting Red Rover

For Students 3rd - 6th
Do you have what it takes to drives a robot on Mars?
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: 21st Century Medicine: Cybersurgery

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Explore remote robotic surgery and describe how a surgeon can operate on a patient from any distance. Create a simple version of a stereoscope to demonstrate the phenomenon of generating three-dimensionality using left and right eye images.
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers:you Can Make It on Your Own: Robo Wars

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Enter a robot design competition. Assemble a motor-powered vehicle that can climb up the steepest ramp angle, using a specified selection of parts, and make improvements in the design as needed.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Invent a Biobot

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Make a robot that moves like a living creature using a microcontroller, motors, and mechanisms with this challenge. Also, on this challenge find a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Website
Curated OER

Cbc Kids: 10 of the Latest Inventions to Make Life a Little Easier

For Students 3rd - 5th
Learn about some of the nifty inventions that add more functionality to common objects. With the Smart toothbrush, your teeth will be clean in no time. The Albert Clock forces you to answer a Math question before it tells you the time....
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Affairs of the Heart: Mirrored Movements

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Model endoscopic surgery by constructing and operating a tool that extends a person's grasping ability, explore dexterity skills using a basic electric circuit and then design and create an improved remote tool.
Website
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Invention Stories

For Students 9th - 10th
Six categories of inventions highlight the inventors in those categories and describe their sometimes world-changing inventions. Other inventions are not so critical, but nonetheless fascinating.