Hello Everyone!
First of all, apologies for posting the Friday Mashup on Tuesday. I have long list of excuses for this, which includes 1) visiting family, 2) a Bobbledy library event on Saturday for which we had to bind a bunch of books, 3) Easter, 4) sore big toe on my right foot.
We hope that you are among those cheerful sorts who subscribe to the “better late than never camp,” but if you choose to storm off in a huff, we will completely understand.
At the end of a long week of thinking about robots, I’m ready to share my favorite stories and pictures and other fun stuff you sent our way.
We asked you this week to think about what kind of robot you would invent and what you would invent it to do. Here are some of your responses:
Alden says:
I would invent a Fixing Robot and it would fix everything. It would fix a broken toy. And it would also even fix papers that were teared apart and make them brand new. It could even fix a bone in one little second. And it could fix a ring, and it could even fix a toy’s head. It could even fix a house, super fast.
It would look like me, Alden. But it would be made out of metal.
There is much here to contemplate, Alden. What you seem to be saying is that this robot fixes everything. I am guessing that your interest in this robot stems from your having two little brothers who like to break toys, tear pages, damage rings, and pose consistent threats to various bones.
As your father, I’m tempted to steal the blueprints while you sleep and use them to build a vast army of fixing robots that I would unleash upon the living room.
Kato says:
It would be a plane-building robot. It would be named R2D2. It would be orange and made out of metal. It would have wheels and legs. It would also fix bones.
Kato: Is there a rash of broken bones that I’m not aware of? Or are you just shrewdly imagining that a robot with orthopedic powers would fetch a pretty penny on the open market? What do you say we go halvsies on whatever profits you realize from this venture? But first, let’s have a little chat about copyright violation. May I suggest that we call your robot something else, such as Edgar?
Anna says:
Mine is going to be orange and black and blue and red and green. I don’t want it to do anything. I just want it to move around and be lots of different colors.
Anna: I applaud the elegant simplicity of your vision. Robots don’t need to shot lasers or fly through the air or grab things with metal claws. They can just be.
But have you asked yourself what you’re going to do if you break one of your bones? Perhaps you want to reconsider this robot plan of yours, after all.
We asked for robot drawings and here’s what you sent:
Here is Harvey’s robot picture and story.
Here’s the story again, in case you want to have another read:
I have a robot. It can change into many things. His name is Bob. It can change into an alien, a bear, a dinosaur, a saver, a fighter, and a defeater. I made it myself. You can design a robot on a computer. When it sees what parts you need, you can get it online. Then you go to a man who is really good at metal and he will give you the parts. First you start with a circuit. Then a head, body, arms, and legs. That’s how to build a robot.
I love your story, Harvey. Not only is Bob an excellent robot (as evidence I cite his ability to change into shapes as disparate as a dinosaur and a bear) but he is a homemade robot, which makes him all the more wonderful. Thanks so much for giving us some pointers on how to make a robot. I have a computer. And I know a man who is really good at metal. His name is Malcolm. Does this mean I’m likely to succeed? Or is there more to it than that? I do not, for example, have a circuit. Might you be willing to loan me one of yours?
Here is Harry’s robot drawing:
Excellent robot, Harry! Is this, as it seems, a Harry Potter robot? And is the Harry Potter Robot standing next to an enormous, rainbow-colored castle? And is this, in fact, a scene from one of the Harry Potter books (I must admit that I’ve only read the first one) or is it a scene from the inside of your mind? If the latter, it seems as if the inside of your mind is a place I’d like to visit sometime.
Here is Simon’s story about a dinosaur robot:
This dinosaur robot has a long neck. It also has a long tail. Real dinosaurs lived in the time when there were no robot dinosaurs. This robot is like the real dinosaur alamosaurus. Is it the same size as the real dinosaur was? Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t.
Simon, I applaud you for covering your bases. Either the robot dinosaur was or was not the same size as the actual alamosaurus. I’m guessing that no one will be able to present evidence to the contrary. I only wish that I had lived in the time of real-live dinosaurs so that I could have seen a real live alamosaurus doing the kinds of things that a real live alamosaurus would do. But, come to think of it, there were no fresh flour tortillas available in those days, so never mind.
Here is Simon’s drawing of the dinosaur robot:
Simon, I cannot decide which I admire more: your writing or drawing skills. I admire the carefully articulated moving pieces in the image above. It is as if I am looking at a photograph of a real-live robotic alamosaurus. And looking at said image, I am altogether uncertain whether it is the same size as a real-live alamosaurus or not.
And now, as a final treat, is an amazing video of Simon and his dad playing with toothbrush robots they built.
Are you gasping with surprise and doing double-takes of amazement and excitement? I know I am. It is making it hard to type. It is making it hard to type. (ahem. That was my double-take.)
For his great drawing, fun story, and incredible video, it seems clear to me the this week’s winner, our resident expert on robots, is none other than Simon!
Please step forward and take your bow, sir (and you can download your trophy HERE).
Thanks, everyone, who shared their robots with us this week. We sure loved seeing what the insides of your heads look like.
And sorry again for being so late in posting. I wish I could say that it won’t happen again, but I haven’t yet invented a robot to help keep me organized. If anyone has invented such a robot, please let me know.