PBS
Robot Body Language
Don't be so emotional! Scholars take part in an activity where they consider how future robots will be able to show emotions. They place paper bags over their heads, act out emotions through body movements, and have others guess the...
PBS
Robot Body Language
How can you tell what someone is feeling when they aren't saying a word? Explore non-verbal communication with an activity based on Cynthia Breazeal's work with expressive robots. One learner puts a bag over his or her face and uses body...
Teach Engineering
Strong-Arm Tactics
Experience collecting rock samples using a robotic arm with an activity that has pairs work together to operate a robotic arm. One pupil serves as the eyes and the other operates the controller. The objective is to be the fastest pair to...
PhysEdGames
Robot Tag
Assign a few players to be "bad robots," and the rest of the class is "good robots." Place three Hula hoops in the middle of the gym to represent the 10-second "charging station," or safe area. Set up a cone square on one end of the gym....
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Robots
Two activities work with a fiction and nonfiction book about robots‚—Robot Dreams by Sara Varon and Robot by Roger Bridgman. Scholars read each story, then build a robot out of found objects, examine robot sensors, and search for...
DiscoverE
My Friend Robot
Can you do better than a robot? Teams write instructions for a hypothetical robot to build a structure. They test their instructions by acting them out to see if they produce the desired structure.
Discovery Education
3D Printing Robots
What is water worth to you? The answer probably depends on many different variables. Learners explore the value of water in space and what it takes to transport the resource to locations in a galaxy far far away. They then consider...
Smithsonian Institution
What's the Code? Coding Robot Movements Using Sound
Tap into the desire to learn about computer codes. Pupils apply the Tap Code and the Polybius Square to send secret codes using sound. They design a code that tells a robot what movements to make and then test out their code using one of...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Robotic Surgical Device
The engineering design process meets laparoscopic surgical robots with an activity that is the last part in a series of 10 and brings all the lessons of the unit together. Teams design and build a remotely controlled laparoscopic device....
DiscoverE
Dream Big Robot Challenge
Think like a human, act like a robot. Scholars program a human robot to travel through an obstacle course. One member of the team then becomes the robot and acts out the code. Hopefully, this human robot will make it through the course!
Computer Science Unplugged
Harold the Robot — Thinking About Programming Languages
Get young programmers thinking about programming languages with an activity that asks class members to craft directions for one person (teacher, another adult, or a class mate) acting as a robot. Participants direct the robot to...
Teach Engineering
About Accuracy and Approximation
How accurate are robots? Groups draw lines by moving robots backwards and forwards by one rotation of the wheels. Using the appropriate formula, they determine the percent error in the length of the lines in relation to the calculated...
Teach Engineering
Accelerometer: Centripetal Acceleration
Scholars build robotic arms that swing back and forth and use them to collect velocity and acceleration data. To analyze the results, pupils compare data to the equations for angular velocity and centripetal acceleration.
Teach Engineering
All Fats Are Not Created Equal
Apply robotics to connect physical properties to chemical properties. Future engineers use robots to determine the melting points of various fats and oils. The robots can do this by measuring the translucency of the fats as they heat up.
Illustrative Mathematics
Robot Races
Analyze data on a graph to answer three questions after a robot race. Learners practice comparing ratios and reading points on a graph. Answers may vary on the last question based on accuracy of graphing. Use the instructional...
DiscoverE
Coding Without Computers
See what it feels like to be a robot. Scholars use programming vocabulary to program a human robot and test out their codes by acting them out. The code should result in stacking six cups into a pyramid.
Teach Engineering
Automatic Floor Cleaner Computer Program Challenge
Have your class use the engineering design process to program a vacuum robot. Using computer engineering concepts, teams program an automatic floor cleaner to traverse designated patterns.
IMAX
Hubble
Explore what it takes to service the Hubble telescope. In the set of three activities, groups investigate several aspects of the Hubble telescope, including robotic arms used during repairs, spacesuits, and extravehicular activity (EVA)...
DiscoverE
Arts and Engineering Activity Packet: Grades 3-5
Art and science sometimes go hand in hand. A set of four activities for learners in grades 3-5 teaches engineering concepts as part of art projects. Class members build homemade robots, elastic puppets, musical instruments, and...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Bees
A Reading Adventure pack explores the busy life of bees. After reading a fiction and nonfiction text, scholars complete three hands-on activities. Participants invent a robot that can do the work of bees, cheers to hardworking bees with...
Curated OER
Fun Robot Activities
Students complete a variety of activities that have to do with robots. In this robot lesson plan, students pretend to do tasks blindfolded, look up a chat bot online, list TV shows based on robots, and more.
Las Cumbres Observatory
Astronomical Seeing - How Good Are the Observing Conditions?
Why is star gazing easy on some nights and difficult on others? Pupils aim to quantify the answer in an enlightening astronomy lesson. After collecting images from an online robotic telescope, they measure the brightness of images using...
Computer Science Unplugged
Conversations with Computers—The Turing Test
Will the real computer please stand up? The premise of this activity is for the class to ask questions to a human and to a computer and to determine which is which. The class asks a given set of questions, and the person playing the role...
College Board
Strategies for Teaching AP Computer Science
Implement strategies from the beginning to the end. A collection of strategies and lessons span from the first day of school to after the exam. Resources cover basic information such as computer ethics and top 10 tips to a lesson on how...