Flying Robots
Another party – this time for Tobin’s friend Eli, who celebrated his 5th birthday at the Brooklyn Robot Foundry. This place had sparked our interest already, so Tobin was extra excited to get a chance to check it out. After a warmup of sketching robots with markers and tape, the kids set out to build “flying robots” – little parachutes made from coffee filters, pipe cleaners, and paper cups. Tobin kept his model lean and mean, choosing the smallest cup and the lightest materials for his “passenger”. The moment of truth came, when all parachutes were launched to fly up a transparent wind tunnel. Some made it all the way to the top and out, some were too heavy and got stuck mid way. It was a great experience to see the kids fine tune their models for better flight behavior. To Tobin’s delight, his parachute shot up the pipe like a rocket and kept sailing slowly back into his hands. Over, and over, and over again. After the party he couldn’t decide whether the chocolate cake, or the parachutes were the best part of the afternoon, but he clearly had a great time. Thanks for having us, Eli!
Posted in Daily Musings, Photos
sooki responded on November 20th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
So awesome!! Wish i can take Lukas there with you guys!!
Ninja responded on November 20th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Perhaps you can make your own windtunnel? If you have a room fan, it’t quite easy. Just point it up and build a clear, translucent tube the same diameter, going up. The last picture shows how they put the tube on cardboard legs so kids can launch their ‘robots’ in the gap.