How to make a moving robot

A few months ago my little men (aged 4 & 5) requested a robot. I had once seen a friend making a "static" robot out of milk cartons. As I always like to innovate and improve things, one day I worked hard all morning until there was a special robot. One with a beating heart and moving arms and head. I tried to make a boy robot, but somehow it turned out to be "Mrs. Doubtfire".

 

Anyway, here's how to make a shiny robot with a beating heart and moving arms and head. You need e.g. glue, duct tape, scissors, a sharp knife, pebbles (as weight for the feet), carton boxes, milk cartons, empty toilet and kitchen rolls,  tin foil, shiny packaging paper, red beating heart with led, plus other items for the facial features and deco.

Make holes in the milk cartons. Place the pebbles on the glue. Some weight is needed to keep your robot in balance and standing up.

You also need "tube" legs.

You need to glue robot's "pelvis" and the legs together.

Stack some carton boxes and glue them together to make a body for the robot. I used tin foil to create a pair of lovely legs and duct tape to finish the shoes.

Next make a sleeve with a hole on top for the neck. This unit (sleeve) will act as shoulders.

Now pierce the tube (arms).

The holes (shoulders and arms) should match.

Place empty kitchen rolls into holes and make sure you can move the arms and the neck of the robot.

Yay, it works!

Then make a head with empty milk cartons and cut a hole through 1,5 milk cartons (see picture).

Place the head into the "neck", but don't glue it as you want the head to move.

An alternative to paint is to cover the robot with tin foil.

Then add hands: find some old scrubbing gloves.

Add facial features and funky ears.

The tape of an old c-cassette works brilliantly as hair. Now all you need to do is to ask your children to teach the robot marching and talking. "Ha-Lo Peo-ple!" 

Copyright © Helena Saxberg