In an effort to utilize my librarian background, I am embarking on a series of book reviews, to be published on Fridays. These reviews will cover science education books for and about children, as well as reality-based children’s books for a Montessori lifestyle.

Making Simple Robots by Kathy Ceceri.

Ages: teens – adults
Ceceri, Kathy. Make: Making Simple Robots: Explore Cutting-Edge Robotics with Everyday Stuff. MakerMedia: Sebastpol, CA, 2015.

A few weeks ago, I picked up this book at the library. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much, but the author caught my interest when she mentioned that many robot books can be a let down. They are often too advanced or so simple that they don’t teach much. Those are my thoughts exactly! I was happily surprised when I started the first chapter and couldn’t put it down.

I became engrossed with the description of shape-changing robots and found myself eager to try out her simple, yet advanced project on how to demonstrate the concept. This is especially relevant for me because I am in the process of working on a ‘electronic paper’ course for this summer. Suffice it to say, I ended up reading the entire book in one day!

Table of Contents from the book, Making Simple Robots.

Ceceri’s book is well-organized and perfect for the beginner robot scientist. She clearly makes the distinction between a robot (which uses sensors and must be programmed) and a machine (which much be operated by someone else).

I especially loved her simple designs, real-world uses and accompanying explanations. This book is written for individuals who are interested in a variety of ‘robots.’ She covers topics on automated paper, BEAM robots and introduces the concept of e-textiles, which can include sewn electronics – a favorite topic of mine.  With each new piece of technology, she includes a real-life connection. Many of these research projects take place at universities and are still in the design phase, but it helps for students to make real-world connections that are so often lacking in school.

A sample robot project using LittleBits. Picture from Kathy Ceceri’s book, Making Simple Robots. See it in action.

Since the purpose of this book is to whet your appetite for robotics, some of the projects use material short-cuts. Some of these shortcuts include using LittleBits to overcome the hurdles of having to hard-wire or hard code advanced technology such as Arduino. This can make some of the projects quite pricey, but it’s a guide for you to explore the variety of options in robotics. As for those naysayers who complain that they don’t want to purchase a 3-D printer, check out your local library or college. We are fortunate to live close to the University of Florida and the science and education libraries allow you to upload a 3-D printing file and pay to print it out – no need to purchase an entire 3-D printer.

Overall, this book is a great place to begin if you and your child aren’t sure where to start with your robotics adventure. Although the book is geared toward teens and young adults, there is no reason an adult couldn’t help a younger student with some of the projects.

In conclusion, I loved the book. It showed me a wide variety of robots – many of which I didn’t know about and would never have discovered on my own. I already have plans to incorporate some of the accentuated paper robots into my summer classes and I can’t wait to get my hands on her new book about Paper Circuits.

Accentuated Paper project from Kathy Ceceri’s book, Making Simple Robots.