Crank it up! Building a Horse!

Building the Mechanical Horse Robot

This week, your young roboticist built a mechanical horse and discovered how crank systems work! They explored the connection between physical mechanisms and code while experimenting with sound timing.

Understanding the Crank Mechanism

Before programming, students examined the crank system built into their horse robot. A crank is a simple machine that converts circular motion into back-and-forth movement. In their horse, turning the motor makes the crank rotate, which creates a rocking motion that makes the horse appear to move.

Students practiced identifying the crank parts and explaining how the circular motion of the motor translates into the horse’s movement. This hands-on exploration helped them see how machines can create different types of motion.

What Your Child Coded

Students worked with several programming concepts:

• Motor Control: They set the motor speed and programmed how many rotations the horse should move.
• Sound Effects: They added a horse snort sound to make their robot more realistic.
• Timing Challenge: The main coding challenge was figuring out how to make the sound play at the same time the horse moves, rather than one after the other.

The Timing Challenge

In the basic program, the sound plays after the movement finishes. Students experimented with different approaches to solve this sequencing problem. Some discovered they could use message broadcasting to have two things happen simultaneously – one part of the code controls movement while another part handles the sound.

Three Challenges to Try

After building the basic horse, students could choose from these extension challenges:

1. Simultaneous Action: Make the horse sound play while the horse is moving (not after).
2. Explain the Crank: Show and explain to the instructor how the crank mechanism works and which parts create the motion.
3. Design Challenge: Build a completely new robot that uses a crank mechanism in a different way.

What Your Child Explored

Through this hands-on project, your child experimented with:

• How crank mechanisms convert one type of motion into another
• The difference between sequential actions (one after another) and simultaneous actions (at the same time)
• How to coordinate physical movement with sound effects
• How simple machines can create complex motions
• The relationship between mechanical design and code

Why This Matters

Understanding mechanical systems like cranks helps kids see how everyday machines work – from bicycles to car engines. The coding challenge of timing also introduces an important programming concept: parallel processes, where multiple things need to happen at once.

Questions about your child’s mechanical horse? Reach out at help.stjohns@clubscientific.com or call 904-287-8603.