Institute of ImaginationRobot LabRobot Lab
Build a body

Kinetic shapes

Join card strips and shapes with split pins, then make a creature or robot that moves when you push one part.

  • About 40 minutes
  • 6 steps
Step by step

One step at a time, in big writing.

A card robot pinned to a base card with split pins: its jaw hinges open at one corner, each arm bends at an elbow and waves, and its legs swing from the hips

Before you start

What you need

Tools

To print

Materials

Make it

The steps

How it works

A split pin holds two pieces of card together but lets them turn, like your elbow. Pinned strips push and pull each other. A pin through the base card stays put, and strips swing round it.

A base card with a circle pinned at its centre and a triangle pinned to the card through its middle. A strip pinned near the edge of the circle joins a top corner of the triangle, so turning the circle makes the triangle swing back and forth.

  1. Two card strips joined by one split pin; one strip swings round the pin

    Pin two strips together

    Push a split pin through the end holes of two strips. Open its legs flat on the back, one each way. Does one strip swing round the pin?

  2. Four card strips pinned into a loop with a split pin at each corner; the top strip is pushed sideways and the loop leans over

    Make a loop

    Pin four strips into a loop, one pin at each corner. Hold the bottom strip flat and push the top strip sideways. What shape does the loop make?

  3. Two pairs of crossed card strips, each pinned through the middle and pinned to each other at the ends; squeezing the near end together makes the far end reach out

    Make an arm that stretches

    Cross two strips and pin them through their middle holes. Make a second crossed pair and lay it just beyond the first. Pin its two near ends to the first pair's two far ends. Squeeze the two ends nearest you. What does the far end do?

  4. A circle with a hole in the middle and one near its edge, a triangle with a hole in each corner and one in the middle, and a square with a hole in each corner; a pencil point makes the middle holes

    Cut your shapes

    Cut a palm-sized circle, triangle and square from coloured card. Make a hole in the middle of the circle and one near its edge. Make a hole in each corner of the triangle and one in its middle. Make a hole in each corner of the square. Use the hole punch near an edge. Further in, lay the card on Blu Tack and push a pencil point through.

  5. A base card with a circle turning on a pin; a strip from the circle makes a triangle wave, and a square swings from the triangle

    Join the shapes

    Pin the middles of the circle and the triangle to the base card, a strip's length apart (make the holes with a pencil point). Join the hole near the circle's edge to a top corner of the triangle with a strip. Pin a corner of the square to the triangle's other top corner. Turn the circle. What do the triangle and square do?

  6. A card robot pinned to a base card with split pins: its jaw hinges open at one corner, each arm bends at an elbow and waves, and its legs swing from the hips

    Invent your own creature

    Turn your strips and shapes into a creature or robot. Add a face, wings or legs in felt tip, paper or wool. Push one part. What does it do?

After the steps

Use it on your robot

Pin card strips to your robot's head for a jaw that opens and shuts.

Your turn

Ideas to try

Make something else

  • A robot mouththat chomps, pinned where the jaws overlap.
  • Robot armswith an elbow and a waving hand.
  • Flapping wingson a bird or butterfly.
  • Dancing legsthat kick when you push them.

Then change something

  1. Use a longer strip, or a different hole. How does the movement change?
  2. Pin the strip to the middle of the circle, not its edge. What does the triangle do now?
  3. Swap a shape for another. Does it move the same way?
  4. Join two strips, one above the other, with a third strip pinned corner to corner. Pin its middle to the base and push the top strip. Which way does the bottom one go?

iOi challenge

Make a robot whose arms and jaw all move when you turn one circle.

More to make

  • Give it a brain

    Build a cardboard robot

    Tape a strip to a servo arm, and the micro:bit moves the whole arm, elbow and all.

    • About 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Build a body

    Make it roll!

    Pin an arm with an elbow to the box, and it swings as your robot rolls.

    • About 40 minutes
  • Build a body

    Matchbox automata

    Tape a short card strip on the bead, and it waves when you turn the handle.

    • About 45 minutes