Magnetic Robot Art with Tin Cans

When we were learning about robots, the preschool kiddos had fun with magnetic robot art.  It’s a robot craft that’s been done time and again, but the children loved it!

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magnetic robot art made with craft supplies

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Materials We Used
Tin cans
Glue gun
Magnets and magnetic strips
Pompoms
Nuts and bolts
Foam stickers
Pipe cleaners
Craft gems
Googly eyes

Set Up
I made sure the tin cans were all cleaned out, and I placed duct tape around the edges just to be safe.  The boys and girls helped me choose a variety of materials for the magnetic robot art.  They gave it a lot of consideration, and I loved seeing how invested they were in the process!

Once all the materials were chosen, I set about magnetizing everything. I just used the glue gun to attach magnets or magnetic strips to each item.

Then I set the magnets and the tin cans out on one of our center tables.  My boys and girls happily descended upon the center and got started on their robots.

How the Children Created
As expected, many of the children chose to create robot faces with all of the materials.  We had some very interesting creations!  Some robots had 2 eyes, while others had 7.  A few of the robots had puffy noses and no mouths.  Any and all combinations were fair game for the students.

Not all of the children wanted to make robots.  These kiddos just enjoyed the process of adding as many magnets as possible to the tin cans.  They were caught up in the different textures, and a few spent some time counting all of the bits and bobs on the cans.

The magnetic robot art was left out as a center choice for a week.  Each day, the kiddos spent some time exploring and creating. I put the items away at the end of the week, and some children continued to bring them out during centers.  It was interesting to see who was really drawn to these creative robots!

More Magnetic Robots

Robot-Themed Preschool Lesson Plans

If you have some robot-lovin’ preschoolers, take a look at these plans for the preschool classroom and home preschool families. Each set has a week’s worth of lesson plans, full of hands-on learning activities about robots. There’s science, literacy, math, and more planned for the week, with ideas that kids can do in various grouping sizes. The plans also come with a book list, activity explanations, and printables that correspond with the hands-on plans.

Get yours here: Preschool Classroom | Home Preschool

Here are a few more ideas for movable robot art.  I love that such a basic activity can have so many permutations!

• Mix and Match Recycled Robots from Fun At Home with Kids
• Tin Can Magnetic Robots from The Chocolate Muffin Tree
• Make Your Own Magnetic Play Set from Teach Preschool