New Canaan Country School Sixth Graders Design Art Bots in MakerLab

New Canaan Country School Middle School students are hard at work in the new MakerLab, where curiosity meets innovation.

The collaborative space opened earlier this year to provide an opportunity for technological experimentation, invention, and teamwork, much along the same lines as the school’s woodshop.

Recently, using tiny electric motors, household objects and recycled materials, sixth graders built “art bots” which draw or paint artistic creations.

Depending on how the motors were located and the ways in which the objects attached to each invention, the art bots move, spin and buzz across the paper. By experimenting with various materials and construction techniques, students were able to create a variety of effects.

“This type of cross-disciplinary prototyping is exactly what the space was meant to inspire,” said Director of Technology and MakerLab teacher Dave Stoller. “It’s exciting to see the creative spark come alive in my students as they dive into this work.”