Rebekah May created a robotic version of Anne Frank for her unit on the Holocaust. Her robot reads passages from Anne Frank's diary aloud using a voice sensor while its diary vibrates in its hand. Though the proportions were slightly off, the robot stood up on its own and successfully demonstrated its programmed functions. Rebekah enjoyed brainstorming a unique idea directly tied to her curriculum and implementing voice recordings into the robot's programming. The most challenging part was programming the sequences alone, but she was able to overcome this through diligence.

1. ARTS AND
BOTS
MY DESIGN NOTEBOOK
ASK
IMPROVE IMAGINE
CREATE PLAN

2. THIS DESIGN NOTEBOOK BELONGS TO:
Rebekah May
--·-----------------------

3. ARTS AND
BOTS
MY DESIGN NOTEBOOK
ASK
IMPROVE IMAGINE
CREATE PLAN

4. THIS DESIGN NOTEBOOK BELONGS TO:
--·---Rebekah May ---------------
-----

5. Arts & Bots Quick Reference
Outputs - Light
Name and Image What does it do? Plug it in Icon
LED
It is a single color
light source with
controllable
brightness.
 Color  +Positive
 Black  - Ground
The colored wire of the LED indicates the
color of its light!
Tri-Color LED
It is a red-green-blue
(RGB) light source
which can produce
many light-based
colors.
 Red  RRed
 Green  GGreen
 Blue  BBlue
 Black  -Ground
Outputs - Motion
Name and Image What does it do? Plug it in Icon
Servo
It is a limited range
motor with controls
for specific angular
positions.
 Yellow  SSignal
 Red  +Positive
 Black  -Ground
Motor
It is an electric
motor with speed
control that can
rotate in either
direction
indefinitely.
 Yellow  +and -
Since both wires are the same color, the
motor can be plugged in two ways.
Switching them just changes which direction
is “forward”.
Vibration Motor
It is a small motor
that causes a
shaking motion
where you can
control the intensity
of shaking.
 Yellow  +and -
Since both wires are the same color, the
vibration motor can be plugged in two ways.
Switching them just changes which direction
the weight spins.

6. Inputs (Sensors)
Name and Image What does it do? Plug it in Icon
Distance Sensor
It is a sensor that
detects how far
away something is.
 Yellow  SSignal
 Red  +Positive
 Black  -Ground
Light Sensor
It is a sensor that
detects how bright
the ambient light is.
 Yellow  SSignal
 Red  +Positive
 Black  -Ground
Temperature Sensor
It is a sensor that
detects the
temperature.
 Yellow  SSignal
 Red  +Positive
 Black  -Ground
Potentiometer
It is a sensor that
detects how it has
been rotated.
 Yellow  SSignal
 Red  +Positive
 Black  -Ground
Notes:
Version 1.1 – March 2012

7. AS
WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR
ROBOT TO LOOK LIKE?
WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR
ROBOT TO BE ABLE TO DO?

8. ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS
GOA
ASK
TO LEARN HOW TO CREATE AND PROGRAM A ROBOT
 WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR ROBOT TO LOOK LIKE?
 WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR ROBOT TO BE ABLE TO
DO?
IMAG
 RESEARCH
 BRAINSTORM IDEAS
 CHOOSE THE BEST ONE!
PLA  DRAW A DIAGRAM
 MAKE A LIST OF MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED
CREA  FOLLOW YOUR PLAN AND CREATE IT!
 TEST IT OUT!
IMPR
OVE:
 TALK ABOUT WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN’T AND
WHAT COULD WORK BETTER!
 MODIFY YOUR DESIGN TO MAKE IT BETTER
 TEST IT OUT!

10. IMAG
DESIGN BRAINSTORM
What do you want your robot to look like? I
want to create Anne Frank! I want her to be a robotic version
of the fifteen year old girl that changed the world. What do
you want your robot to be able to do? I want her

11. diary to vibrate in her hand and I want her to read a passage
from her diary. Where did you find your idea for
your robot?
My unit plan focuses on “The Diary of Anne Frank” and the influence of the Holocaust. The inspiration is
directly from this unit plan!

12. OTHER QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOUR PARTNER ABOUT THEIR
ROBOT DESIGN
Everyone’s unit plan bots were incredible. They were creative and directly tied to their content areas. I would
love to ask them about their personal inspiration and how they came up with their ideas. Also, I am curious how
they carried out their plans to fruition.

13. IMPR
WHAT WORKS? WHAT DOESN’T WORK? WHAT COULD WORK
BETTER?
Anne stands up by herself.
She truly looks like a cartoon version of
Anne Frank.
Her voice sequence works. She reads a
passage from her own diary.
Her diary begins to vibrate in her hand
before she starts reciting.
Her body is lopsided and slightly
disproportionate.
The sequencing doesn’t always work
like I had originally planned.
She only has two functions of
technology, instead of three.
She needs more assets to her character.
I would have loved to try to add
different aspects of technology into her
frame. Perhaps more than one voice
feature, making her open her mouth
when she read, having her move her
diary as she read aloud, etc …
Anne has the potential to do a
multitude of things!

15. PL
DESIGN MATERIALS: WHAT MATERIALS WILL YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR ROBOT?
I needed a large circular recycled material for the face, brown yarn for the hair, and a rectangular box for her body.
She also needed two toilet paper roll arms. I used a lot of felt and construction paper to make her look like a little
girl. I also needed yellow construction paper for her Star of David on her left hand side. I also needed the
Hummingbird and robotics kit.

16. PL
DESIGN SKETCH: SKETCH YOUR ROBOT

17. Arts and Bots Project Development Worksheet
Project Title: Anne Frank Unit Plan Bot
Project Leader/Liaison:
Participating Teachers:
Rebekah May/Harold
Blanco
The Purpose and Main Features of the Project: Anne Frank will read part of her personal diary via voice
sensor.
Preparing the launch: Lots of prepping and brainstorming was needed.
Curricular objectives and scope of the project: This project will teach students about the historical figure of
Anne Frank in a more intuitive and hands on way. They will also hear her read her diary aloud.
Learning activities: This activity teaches simple robotics, math/science/simple engineering, arts and crafts,
and hands-on learning.
Learning outcomes and assessment: How to create a robot and how to work individually on a large project!
:
Resources and support: Harold Blanco and the Arts and Bots notebook.
Project Showcase

18. ARTS and BOTS Interview Questions
To identify the "story" behind each robot, try to cover the following points, and
develop the ones that sound more interesting for each specific interviewee. Of
course, if anything else comes up in the conversation that is interesting and not
part of these points - dig deeper.
 Tell me about how your robot works – what electronic parts did you use and
what do they do? Anne Frank utilized the sound sensor. This allowed me to record my
voice reciting a passage from her diary and then attaching it to the Hummingbird.
Additionally, the vibrator sensor was used. Her diary begins to vibrate in her hand before
she begins reading.
 Identify decisions made (materials, technology, programming, story):
All of the materials were recycled “junk” that was brought to our classroom.
However, it was most beneficial for my project. I hand-picked the materials I would
need, along with an excessive amount of construction paper and felt. All the
technology material was found in our robot kits.
 What did you enjoy the most about this process, what was the most
rewarding part of the experience? Why? How so? I loved creating a
unique idea! Anne Frank is so specialized. I loved brainstorming what she would
look like and figuring out what I wanted her to read in correspondence with my
unit plan. It was neat recording my voice and implementing that into the
computer.
 What was the most challenging part of this assignment for you? Why? How
did you overcome / resolve it? I struggled making sequences on the programming
system. It was more difficult when I was by myself and couldn’t rely on team members.
However, with hard work and diligence, I figured it out!
 What did you learn from this project (about robotics and the curricular topic)?
I learned how to program a robot. This was something I NEVER thought I could do! I also
learned that if I can do this, my technology driven students of the future could certainly
program a robot. I also learned even more about Anne Frank and her life during the Holocaust
by frequent internet referencing and research.
 Show / describe the robot doing its thing (+ the assignment if relevant)