Build a Robot Game STEM Challenge for Preschool

Are your kids into robots? My kids seem obsessed with friendly, people-like robots. We’ve gone a little robots crazy recently, with our Squishy Circuits robot, robot design challenge, and scrub brush robot. But still, my kids still beg for more robot fun! This time, I create this fun build a robot game so my preschooler could join in on the robot building fun as well. This activity is designed to get little ones to think about what goes into building a robot and what parts a robot needs to be successful. My preschooler was delighted with the finished robot and couldn’t wait to show it off to friends and family.

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Build a Robot Game STEM Challenge for Preschool

While I designed this activity with preschoolers in mind, your elementary kiddos will have a blast doing it too. We loved that we could do this together as a family!

What you’ll need for the build a robot game:

Aluminium foil
Toilet paper roll
Drinking straws
Googly eyes
Paper
Dice
Glue (we used a low-temp hot glue gun)
Pipe cleaner
Marker

Before starting this game with my preschooler, I did a little set up. I cut some straws into arms and legs and made a face from paper with a marker. I twisted a pipe cleaner into an antenna and wrapped a toilet paper roll with aluminum foil.

I made sure to have six parts for the robot to match the six side of the die.

On a piece of paper, I wrote the code for building the robot. Each number was assigned a different robot part.

When the set-up was complete, I told my preschooler how to play the game.

She rolled the die, then glued the appropriate part to the robot.

We talked about what each part of the robot would do and why the robot would need these parts to work. We also practiced counting during this activity.

My preschoolers was delighted with her new robot friend and couldn’t wait to show it to everyone she met that week.

What Kids Learn in the Build a Robot Game

In this game, preschoolers can learn about several concepts. If more than one child is playing, this is a great game for learning to take turns. The game also makes a basis for a solid preschool STEM activity, encouraging kids to think outside the box and figure out what each part of a robot will do and why a robot would need these parts to work properly. We also discussed what jobs a robot can do, and how robots are used in the real world while playing this game.

Looking for more STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) projects and inspiration?

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