Be creative
7+ years
You will need:
- Plastic Straws
- Large Milkshake straw – in the picture we used an pen case
- Card – any colour
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Tape
- Sellotape
- Wool or String – use a variety of colours
Duration:
30 minutes
Focus
The science and innovation of robotics has changed everyone’s lives. Robotic arms are used in manufacturing such as making cars and robotic prosthetic hands can enable people who have lost their limb to do everyday things. Have a go at discovering the mechanics of robotics and the importance of everything working together by making your own robotic hand.
Instructions
1.
On the card draw around your hand and wrist, the bigger the hand the better, then cut out the hand.
Place your hand back onto the cut out and mark out where your finger and thumb joints bend. After that fold the paper hand at the joints.
2.
Cut up the straws, so that you have:
5 pieces of 6.35mm/12.7mm/25.4mm pieces of straws – these will become the bones of your fingers
1 piece of 63.5mm Milkshake straw
You then start sticking the straws down with sellotape onto each finger and the thumb. Start with the little pieces at the end of each finger ending up with the bigger pieces on the palm of your hand
Stick the 63.5mm piece of straw to the wrist
3.
Using a different colour piece of wool for each finger, cut your wool into 5 x 609.6mm lengths.
Tie a knot at the end of each piece. Thread the unknotted end of 1 strand of wool through the straws of each finger and thumb (with the knotted end of your finger tip)
All threads meet at the wrist, then all 5 threads go through the 1 straw.
Make sure the knots at the tips of the fingers are secure – you may need to knot them a few times.
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