Robots and the Roadside

Friday 7 August was the showcase of the Year 4 ' ROADSIDE ROBOTS '. It was held in the Dining Room Annexe at the Junior School and created a lot of excitement amongst the boys and parents. The exhibition was officially opened by Campbell Millar (4N) with his robot that had been set up with an aerial, transmission set box and microphone so that his voice became robotic, which was very impressive!

The Year 4's had the challenge of creating a robot from recycled junk found on the verge throw out with other found materials. They were given a standard base to support the sculpture, which we were fortunate to have the Maintenance Department prepare for us. They began the design cycle by viewing a section of the DVD Robots for inspiration and then sketched prototypes of robots, referring to found objects for clever shapes. They discovered that you could use objects that were intended for one purpose for a completely different use: a valuable insight for making art!

The boys faced many difficulties throughout the development of their robot. There were problems joining the parts together into the form, as many of the materials were strong and heavy duty. Then they had to hide the joins, so that the viewers' eyes did not get distracted by the joins and instead focused on the clever shapes of the robot form. The boys mainly used cable ties, wire, silver/black tape, liquid nails/araldite glue, screws and nails for the joining. The boys overcame the problems independently through "trial and error" and collaboratively by seeking help from adults as well as learning from each other. Each week they developed skills with construction and handling a range of tools and materials. They also gained a better understanding of form and three- dimensional artwork.

The exhibition was a great way to show individually, and the vast diversity of the group is reflected in the stunning uniqueness of the results. Even the robots that were not so successful in the end had an important place in this exhibition, as it makes us aware that sometimes things don't go to plan and it's okay, as long as we reflect on why it didn't work. Next time, we can be better prepared for success and learn from our mistakes. One such example was where a boy was just too ambitious and had one idea in his mind that he could not move away from - even when it wasn't working! Hence he did not complete a robot. Although this is disappointing for him, it is a very real life lesson that we should celebrate, in order to move forward with our skills and ideas. In Art, our personalities are very evident in the way we approach tasks and work. Big projects that culminate in reflections and exhibitions like this are a good way of appreciating our differences and identifying our individual weaknesses, talents and styles.

Finally an acknowledgement and thank you to all the parents for their support and interest in the boys' art programme here at Scotch - whether it be class help, assistance at home with their son, helping to source the materials at the start of the project, trouble shooting to help overcome problems along the way, taking photographs and/ or viewing the exhibition and giving feedback to the boys about their artwork and that of other students.

Karen Sabitay

PYP Visual Arts Specialist