Project Based Learning - Inventor Biography Automata

In this hands-on project-based learning module, students will delve into the realms of creativity and engineering as they design and build their own automata inspired by a chosen inventor or invention. An automata is a mechanical device designed to perform a specific task through a series of predetermined movements. For our purposes, it means a small, manually operated device that uses a hand-crank to generate motion. They often depict scenes, figures, or simple actions.

Throughout this module, students will gain a deeper understanding of their selected inventor or invention and develop practical skills in design, construction, and problem-solving.

I'm a Technology, Engineering, & Design teacher for New Century Middle School. I use this with my 7th grade class - Inventions & Innovations

In the attached Module Plan document, you will find

The Unit Plan, including the ITEEA standards and general outline of the module
Automata Project Brief
Automata Project Rubric
Automata Project Checklist (and timeline) handout
Automata Guided Notes handout
Inventor Biography Research
Mechanics Research Activity
Inventor Automata Design Rubric
Automata Project Reflection Questions

Additional included files

Automata slides
Tinkercad - Make an Automata Cam instructions
STL files for different mechanical cams
Automata Cams outlines

Supplies

Like most teachers, I'm on a tight budget. So I like to keep most of my projects low cost with readily available materials. Which is why I like cardboard so much. It's a versatile and ubiquitous material. You can pick up dowels and straws online or at your local grocer store (wooden skewers for dowels, for example).

Access to a 3D printer is optional but it allows the instructor to print the cam files for the students. It also give the students an opportunity to design and use their own cams.

If you don't have a 3D printer, the students can print out the cam drawings from the Automata Cams handout, glue them to cardboard, and cut them out. This requires some attention to detail otherwise the cams will not run smoothly.

Materials required:

Cardboard
Dowels (1/8" or 1/4" will work)
Straws (make sure the dowels can fit through the straws)
Brass fasteners
Other class materials, as requested

Other supplies needed:

Glue guns and glue sticks
Access to printer (I print in black and white and the students color them in)
Colored pencils
3D printer and filament (optional)

Step 1: CAD Practice

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is an important skill all modern engineers must learn. On Wednesdays, my students use their warm-up time (the first 5 to 10 minutes of class) to practice Tinkercad (a free, browser-based CAD program).

In Tinkercad, I add all of my students into classes so that I can track their work. I also use the Tinkercad Activities to organize the different projects throughout the semester. Using the Activities, I can see each student's CAD specific to that one project.

In the weeks before this module, the students will complete the instructions in the Tinkercad - Make an Automata Cam document. They will design two simple cams - an eccentric cam and an egg shaped cam. The instructions break down the practice into 4 short chunks, each requiring about 3 minutes to do. In these chunks, the students practice adding simple shapes, changing sizes, aligning 2 or more components, solids and holes, grouping 2 or more components into a single unit, and custom extrusions.

As we progress into the semester, the students continue to practice their CAD skills with progressively harder exercises. I try to incorporate at least one project with a 3D printed component each semester.

I put the instructions into a quiz on Canvas and add a True / False question - "I completed week xx of the Tinkercad Cam design." This automates the grading of the warm-up. Every few weeks, I'll double check the Activity folder and make sure the students are completing the work properly.

Step 2: Define the Problem

My students use a 5 step version of the Engineering Design Process:

Define the Problem / Identify Criteria & Constraints
Research the Problem
Brainstorm (I usually throw Design in here, even though it really fits into Prototype)
Prototype / Build
Communicate

At the beginning of the module, the students are given this challenge- In teams of 2, and using only classroom materials, students will design and build an automata based on a chosen inventor or invention.

Then I ask what questions they have. And because they're middle schoolers, I typically get silence and blank stares. So I tell them to get to work. At this point, one student will inevitably raise their hand and ask what an automata is. And a floodgate of questions opens.

We'll spend a few minutes defining automata. In my slides, I include a couple of videos of automata.

They complete an Edpuzzle on the basic operation and the parts of an automata. As a class, we'll discuss these basics in detail. I'll show a couple of past student examples to illustrate what makes a great automata and what features need improvement.

Finally, we'll discuss the criteria, the constraints, the timeline, and the rubric for the project.

Step 3: Research - the Inventors

Our second step of the Engineering Design Process is Research.

The first thing the teams need to do is choose an inventor.

In the Inventor Biography Research instructions, I offer a list of inventors they can choose from. Or if they like, students can request another inventor not on the list (they'll need my approval and that of their build partner).

In this individual assignment, students will explore the origin of their invention and why it came about. Prior to this module, my students have explored the nature of invention and innovation. They understand that inventions come about from different wants and needs.

During their research, students will determine the "pain points" that were solved by the invention. And then they think about the follow-on impacts caused by the invention.

My goal here is to get my students to think deeply about their inventor and the invention. I don't want them to rush through this part so that they can get to the building phase. Therefore, I tend to grade their answers here pretty firmly and they can't continue on until they get at least a 90%.

This is one place where I can differentiate. Because it is an individual assignment, I can expect deeper thinking from my gifted students. Plus I can use oral questioning for my students that struggle with reading and writing.

This portion of the project only takes a couple of days to complete for me. That's because we've already spent a couple of weeks exploring the nature and history of invention prior to this. However, if you like, you can significantly expand this section. Students can delve into questions about the inventors' inspirations and motivations, the obstacles they overcame, and pivotal moments that fueled their creativity. And then before building the automata, have the students come together and compare / contrast their particular inventor's journey with the other inventors. In this way, students will gain a better understanding of where invention comes from.

Step 4: Research - the Mechanics

After a team has completed the Inventor Biography, they will spend three days building a basic automata box and exploring different mechanics involved and thinking about the scene they would like to create.

These instructions and photos are included in the Automata slides.

Collect your materials
Cut out 4 pieces of cardboard - 6” x 3”
Poke a hole in the center of 3 pieces
Glue them into a box
Glue small triangles into the corner as braces
Glue a small piece of cardboard under the top hole - this will reinforce your bearing and keep it from leaning
Cut a 1.5” piece off of your straw and place it into the top hole - this is your bearing which allows the vertical rod to freely move up and down
Cut one of your dowels down to 8”
Glue a piece of cardboard (1” x 1.5”) and a 2.5" portion of the remaining piece of dowel to the 8” dowel - this is your axle and hand crank
Cut the second dowel down to 6” - this is your vertical rod
Place your vertical rod into the bearing and glue a small cardboard circle to the bottom (this is the follower)
Place your axle through one of the side holes, add a cam, and then through the other side hole

When they have the basic automata box built, the students are ready for the Mechanics Research Activity. I have several different styles of cams available for them to try in their automata. They need to test each out, describe what the resulting movement is, and think about how they could use this movement in their scene.

The Round cam, when placed slightly off-center, will turn the vertical rod in one direction.
The Eccentric cam is often used in pairs offset in opposite sides. This will cause the vertical rod to turn in one direction, and then in the other direction.
The Egg cam will keep the vertical rod low for most of the turn of the crank and then lift it briefly before slowly bringing it down again.
The Elliptical cam will raise and lower the vertical rod twice for each rotation of the crank.
The Snail cam will slowly raise the vertical rod, then drops it sharply.

I have attached the 3D files for these cams based on an 1/8" dowel for the axle. It's sized a little small, so you'll need to drill it out a little to fit your dowel / skewer. It's much better to be a little tight than too loose. If the cam spins on the axle, a small amount of hot glue on the cam and the axle will fix that. Not too much, or else the student will need to break the cam or the axle to change to the next.

If you don't have access to a 3D printer, you can print out paper copies of the "Automata Cams" file and have the students cut them out in cardboard. You'll want to remind the students to pay attention to how they cut out the cams - the smoother the cam, the smoother the mechanical movement.

Step 5: Brainstorm & Design

When the team has completed the Mechanics Research Activity, they'll spend 15 minutes brainstorming different ideas for their scene.

Again, students like to rush through this phase because they want to get to the building portion. But creativity and brainstorming are vital engineering skills that take practice to develop. So I make them create at least 3 different ideas before I let them move on.

Once they have at least 3 different ideas for their automata scene, they choose one and draw out their design. The design must include a labeled diagram of their automata including the invention and scene it is depicting, at least 2 separate movements and the cams they are using to make these movements, and the foreground and background scenery.

I show the students some examples of designs. One is from Paul Spooner (a famous automata artist). Other examples are previous students' work to display features that make a high quality design.

When the students complete their design, I grade it using the Inventor Automata Design Rubric. Using the rubric, I can give them feedback on how their design meets the criteria. Students will have a chance to improve their design, as needed, based on the feedback.

I don't grade the rubrics on the first go round. If I give them the grade and the feedback at the same time, they often ignore the feedback and move on. But by giving them the feedback before grading, they have a chance to improve their design. And the more fleshed out the design, the easier the build goes.

Step 6: Build

Now that they've gained a deep understanding of their chosen inventor and the mechanics of the automata, it's time to bring their project to life by building the scene. I give the students 4 or 5 days to build their scene and mechanical movements.

Ideally, the students will have done all the prep work necessary and building will go quickly and easily. I spend most of this time, walking around asking and answering questions to help them improve their build.

At the end of the build, the last thing the students will do is take a 1" x 1" piece of cardboard and glue it to the end of the dowel that makes the axle / crank. This keeps it from sliding back and forth and taking the cams out of alignment. If they glue this piece on before the end of the build, they won't be able to take the axle out and make modifications to the cams.

Step 7: Communicate

The final step of the Engineering Design Process is to Communicate the Solution.

After the build, the students present their automata to an audience. I don't grade this portion of the project. I simply want them to become more comfortable presenting ideas and information to others. The audience varies - parents or other class visitors, the Principal or Assistant Principal, or just in front of the class.

You can expand on this portion as much as you like. Students may complete a project write-up/blog post, create a full slide set presentation of their inventor and automata, or make a video presentation.

Step 8: Reflect

Finally, students must reflect on the problem, challenges they faced and overcame, and their solution. The Automata Project Reflection Questions are in the Module Plan.

Often, I do this as a Reflection / Quiz where I will add in additional content questions to test how well they picked up on necessary content to solve the problem. I do this is because it seems that my middle schoolers often dislike deep thinking, but they will take a content quiz more seriously than a general reflection.

I use the Automata Project Rubric to evaluate the students' final output. I'm mostly looking to see if their automata demonstrates creativity, neatness and attention to detail, and good collaboration with their teammates.