Innovation Lab Students Create Automata

Sixth-graders in Karen Glum’s Innovation Lab basics class recently created cardboard automata. Automata are mechanical sculptures made of simple materials. They can also tell a story through their movements. Sixth-graders created a variety of moving scenes. “Students experimented with different materials and shapes for their parts involved in movement, and learned that friction is both friend and foe when making automata,” Glum said.