Parents, Educators & Engineers

Mission: Solar System

Robo Arm

Design and build a robotic arm that can lift a cup off a table.

Robotic arms are cool, useful, and fun to make. In this video, kids design and build controllable mechanical arms and use their "robo" arms to lift objects and to play a series of games. The video shows kids using the engineering design process, applying a variety of science concepts (e.g., levers and tension and compression), and learning how NASA uses robotic arms in many of its missions.

Related Activity

Robo Arm

Want to do this challenge with kids? Download the leader notes and handout.
Download (PDF)

Related NASA Video

Curiosity's Robotic Arm

See NASA's Curiosity rover use its robotic arm to probe the Martian surface.
Download video (3.2 MB)
Watch now on NASA

 

Related Engineer Video

Sandeep Yayathi

NASA robotics engineer Sandeep Yayathi explains how he designs and builds humanoid robots that can work alongside astronauts. Watch now