Robotics Studio · With Tek
How to make a cardboard robot
This course shows your kid how to make a cardboard robot from boxes, tape, and a pencil plan. In 5 short films, Tek covers planning with boxes, cutting and stacking with a grown-up, bendy arms and legs, and a face with buttons. It takes about 5 minutes of films and 1–2 hours of building, mostly away from the screen.
- Ages
- 6 to 13
- Time
- 5 films, about 5 minutes, then 1–2 hours of building
- Host
- Tek
- You need
- Paper, pencil, cardboard boxes in a few sizes, tape, scissors, used by a grown-up, paper tubes or strips of card
- Status
- Coming soon. Kids vote in the app for the courses they want first.
The intro film
Tek's 45-second intro film is coming soon. Here's what Tek says in it.
Transcript
Hi, I'm Tek. See that empty box? That's not a box. That's a robot.
Today, you turn boxes into a robot you can stand next to.
First, you plan it on paper. A big box for the body. A small box for the head.
Then a grown-up helps you cut. Scissors are a grown-up job.
You stack the boxes and tape them tight.
You add arms and legs that bend, like real joints.
Then the fun part. A face. Buttons. Maybe a big red one that says don't press.
Find some boxes. Let's build.
The 5 lessons
Lesson 1. Plan with boxes
Look at your boxes and draw a robot made of them.
- Line up your boxes from big to small
- Pick one for the body and one for the head
- Draw the plan on paper
Where: Paper
Lesson 2. Cut and stack
A grown-up cuts, and you stack and tape.
- Show a grown-up where to cut on your plan
- Stack the head on the body
- Tape every edge tight
Where: Paper
Lesson 3. Arms and legs that bend
A fold in the cardboard works like a joint.
- Use paper tubes or strips of card for arms and legs
- Fold each one in the middle so it bends
- Tape them to the body
Where: Paper
Lesson 4. Face and buttons
A face and a few buttons give your robot a personality.
- Draw eyes and a mouth on paper
- Draw three buttons and decide what each does
- Tape them on and give your robot a name
Where: Paper
Lesson 5. Make it move
Draw a blueprint of your box robot and build it in the studio to see it move.
- Draw your cardboard robot from the front, with labels
- Snap a photo of the blueprint
- Build it in Robotics Studio and watch it move
Where: Robotics Studio · Design
What your kid makes
Your kid ends with a cardboard robot standing in the room, with bendy limbs, a face, and a name. The last film turns it into a blueprint, so the same robot can move in Robotics Studio's 3D simulator and keep going in Build a robot that walks.
Free guides to practise with
Questions parents ask
Is cutting cardboard safe for my kid?
A grown-up does all the cutting. The films say so every time scissors appear. Your kid plans, points, stacks, tapes, and decorates.
What boxes work?
Any clean boxes from around the house: cereal boxes, shoe boxes, delivery boxes. Two or three sizes are enough, plus paper tubes or strips of card for the arms and legs.
How much of this is screen time?
About 5 minutes of films. The building happens at the table with real boxes, and the screen comes back only at the end, if your kid wants to see the robot move in the studio.