4M: Doodling Robot, Build a Robot That's an Artist, Ideal for Young Science Enthusiasts, Challenge Your Child's Imagination, Requires 1 AA Battery (Not Included), For Ages 8 and up

The interesting thing for me was watching my son build this toy, then play with it, then take it apart to reconfigure it and get new design patterns. The motor can be assembled into the toy four different ways for four different artistic patterns, and the pens can be adjusted into infinite varieties. He really likes this -- he calls it his "Artbot" and he is making custom stationery/art for the brothers in colors of their choosing. Tip: When the markers wear out or a different color scheme is preferred, RoseArt thin markers fit better than Crayola thin markers. You may have to use a screwdriver to loosen the pen holders, then re-tighten on the markers. To keep the robot on the paper, he used an old 9X12 pan, lined the bottom with the drawing paper, and switched on the robot inside the pan. Very nice results. It took him about 70 minutes to assemble it the first time, and he still likes it. (He's 10) He has used it for many hours, and the toy has withstood a couple of falls from countertops onto tile floors at the hands of the little brother. *** update -- I added some photos in customer images ***

Was not sure how many stars to go with on this one. Reason being, the instructions have an error and there was a missing wire. That being said, I oddly decided on 5 stars. The error and missing wire made for a fun learning experience for my son. He learned to trouble shoot, that reversing the positive and negative wires causes the motor to run in the opposite direction, to improvise, and that even “professionals” make mistakes! It works great, was fun to assemble. Great STEM Project. My son loves it.

The doodling robot is lots of fun. It will take an adult to put together, but your child will enjoy it. The robot rotates and vibrates in circles due to an unbalanced weight on the robot top. I place an 11 X 17 paper on the bottom of a cookie sheet. I then turn the robot on and it doodles in circles and creates a colorful pattern. The project is fun and colorful. Your kid will certainly enjoy.

I completed this project together with my 8-year-old. I did most of the work, but an average 10-year-old could probably do this project on their own with minimal supervision. The instructions are pretty easily understandable (good accompanying diagrams). We completed the project in less than 30 minutes. You'll need a smaller-sized, Phillips-head ("+" or "x" shaped) screwdriver to complete the project. You'll also need a battery. Extra felt-tip markers, an extra battery, plenty of drawing paper, and a baking (cookie) sheet are also helpful once you're ready to doodle. To change the drawing pattern, simply adjust the legs between drawings. Even though this was for my 8-year-old, other children from 4 years up to 12 years old would probably enjoy this project. The project may be too simplistic for young people older than 12 years old. This isn't going to keep them occupied for hours and hours. Once you've completed the project, the actual drawing will keep children engaged for about 15-30 minutes before they lose interest. However, my children still enjoy pulling the robot out from time to time to do more doodling. Overall, this is a worthwhile return on the investment considering I paid less than $20 and spent less than 30 minutes on the actual build. Here's a link to our YouTube video: [...] Here are a couple of other 4M robot projects that we have enjoyed working on together: 4M Table Top Robot 4M Smart Robot

For some reason my kid wanted this for a birthday gift. But like most things kids want they have a bunch of fun with it for a couple of days then it gets lost in the pile of misfit toys in their room. Which means it's good for a few hours of entertainment which probably doesn't quite justify the price they're charging. It's just a simple motor and cam gear the makes it vibrate and spin around. And the clamps don't really hold your typically sized Crayola marker either so when the tips on the markers that come with it inevitably get deformed it's hard to find replacements. So the lesson? Stop letting our kids talk us into stuff we know isn't going to be worth it.

I loved watching my 10yr old son Orion assemble this little gadget on Christmas. I kept trying to help but he wouldn't let me... Lol.. He put it together in less than 10 min. And had a blast playing with it. I bought several of the little robots instead of legos last holiday and it worked out great. Good fun!!!

I bought this to put together with my six year old son. Putting it together was a team effort and he needed a lot of help. We had a blast. We made it in 2 days because of my son's attention span. It wasn't clear when to use the shorter screw but discovery is what is all part of being a scientist (hint you only need to use the small screw twice and it is in the beginning). My son was thrilled with end result and very proud of himself. I found it easier than most Lego sets. We had fun making it. I would by another in a heartbeat. Also the price was right. Saw other kits that were a lot more expensive.

The only redeeming quality of this toy is that it was sort of fun to put together. That's it. Once together, it did not work at all. Actually, we did get it to work a TINY bit if we turned it upside down. It's definitely junk. If you're looking for something electronic to put together and then have it actually work then purchase Snap Circuits. If you want something to make a cool design like this toy was supposed to, buy a Spirograph set.

Good quality quick delivery