Robot Operation Game

Learn how to make this project, along with many others in this book!

Use an alligator clip to perform surgery on a robot—but be sure not to touch the foil and set off the buzzer and LED!

1. 1x LED
2. 1x buzzer
3. 1x 120 Ω resistor
4. 3x alligator clip wires
5. 4x 1.5 volt batteries and battery pack (with alligator clips)
6. Robot template (with parts)-- attached above
7. Foil
8. 2x ~7x9 inch cardboard sheets, plus more
9. Scissors
10. Glue
11. White Paper

Print and cut out the robot template. Glue a piece of white paper to one of the cardboard sheets, then glue the robot on top. Cut out the dark grey rectangles and circles on the robot.

Insert the LED into the dark grey hole on the robot’s nose. Insert the buzzer in the topmost hole on the robot. The pins of the components should stick out behind the cardboard.

Flip the sheet over and tape the resistor near the buzzer and LED. Connect an alligator clip wire from the buzzer’s negative (shorter) leg to the resistor. Then use another wire to connect the LED’s positive (longer) leg to the other end of the resistor.

Tape the battery holder to the back of the cardboard sheet. Connect the positive (longer) leg of the buzzer to the positive end of the battery holder. Tape down all the connections and alligator clips securely to the board. The negative (shorter) leg of the LED should still be disconnected.

Glue foil to one side of the second cardboard sheet. Cut out additional pieces of cardboard to create four small ‘stacks’ the height of the battery holder. Glue them to the sides of the sheet, as shown in the picture above.

Place the cardboard with the robot on top of the foil sheet (circuit side down). Glue the cardboard stacks to the top sheet with the robot, in order to keep the layer raised and secure. Then, attach a third alligator clip wire: connect one end to the LED’s negative (shorter) leg and extend the other outside the cardboard. You should now have two clips sticking out from the sheets—one from the battery holder’s negative side (black in the image) and one from the LED’s negative leg (red in the image).

Clip the wire from the battery holder’s negative end to the foil on the bottom sheet. The foil will act as a conductor, like a wire in a circuit!

Cut out the individual paper components from the template. Place them into the holes of the robot in the order shown in the image attached above. Now your robot is ready for surgery! See below for directions on how to play this game.

Like the classic game of ‘Operation’, this robot-rescue game puts your surgery skills to the test! Race against your opponents to take all of the paper components out of the robot without touching the foil at the bottom—because if you slip, the robot’s nose will light up and the buzzer will sound! Use the free end of the alligator clip wire (connected to the LED’s negative leg) as your surgery tool. This way, when the alligator clip touches the foil, the circuit completes and current can flow through the electrical components.