Bristle Bots

My husband is quite handy. While he may not be the world's best carpenter or plumber (though he can definitely hold his own) he is amazing when it comes to electronics. The man can fix anything! Plus he is always building handy things - like the TiVo-like computer we use to record and edit out the commercials from all of our TV. When he found a tutorial on how to make little vibrating robots he knew he had to make them.

We had friends up earlier this winter and the group of eight kids seemed like the perfect time to make these little guys.

It was so much fun watching the kids (ages four to fourteen) helping each other build them and then race them around the table. While the older kids were ensconced in adjusting the location of their motors and batteries (to shift the weight and alter how the bots moved,) the little ones just giggled as they squirmed on the top of the dining room table. Plus, it was a great little lesson in electric circuits. (You've got to get both of those wires touching the motor to get it to run you know.)

If you would like to make your own, here are the directions. Even if you don't want to make one, it is fun to see how the little guys race around the table. They move a lot faster than you would think. One more thing. Don't buy the Schoolastic Bristle Bot book! It is a total rip-off. The guys at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories came up with the idea and were not credited in Schoolastic's book. Bad bad Schoolastic...