BBD — Wolverine
This is one of my projects at TMOT — I’m going to be making projects and working with them to design a curriculum for their Better By Design program — a course to build design thinking skills in children and inspire them to be innovators.
I saw this project on Youtube, and then set out to build it on my own.
I faced difficulties right away, since I had no idea how to make use of the tools available to me.
I had been using a ruler wrong, I realized I was always drawing slant lines, and that’s why I was never able to crease the cardbard to fold well. The makers guided me, and taught me how to use a ruler to draw straight lines. It’s a fundamental tool I thought I knew how to use, but turns out, I didn’t.
Next, I learned how to use the glue gun, and after burning my hands a few times, I was able to get the cardboard stuck, and the exoskeleton was ready. I know it looks very ordinary, and it is, but the effort it took me to make it wasn’t.
I cut the claw, out of a popsicle stick. I used a blade, and shaved the edges off the ice cream stick to make it sharp, I also cut a little line, to serve as a lock, that brought in the release and retract mechanism.
I cut a slit in the cardboard skeleton, and popped the stick in, and it slid very well. That was good :)
Now, I had to build the mechanics of the whole thing. I attached wooden dowels — one on the popsicle stick, and one on the exoskeleton. The tension immediately released the claw. I didn’t just want a release immediately, I wanted it on my command, this is where the lock comes in.
I built a structure out of smaller popsicle sticks, that stop the claw from being released - letting it release only when the lock is pulled on.
I attached two more of these claws, to build wolverine’s hand!
Here it is, in action!
I will never underestimate the power of cardboard and popsicle sticks again. Rubberbands too.
I love making things, it doesn’t matter if the thing is virtual zeros and ones, or physical cardboard and popsicle sticks.
