So where do you get started?
My son and I started when he was five and half years old. We started with very basic robots with readily available kid's art supplies and with hobby robot supplies such as DC motors, battery packs, wheels, and propellers. We started with simple ideas as I wanted to make sure that my son found it interesting to make these robots with me.
Here are some supplies that you will need to get started. All of these are readily available but most are sold in bulk.
Reach out if you need help getting the materials.
Vibrating Motor
This is a good starting motor and you can make a lot of fun toys with this. This motor essentially vibrates when you connect it to a DC power source. It requires around 3V power supply and you can connect it to coin cell battery or a AA or a AAA battery. The red wire of the motor should be connected to the positive terminal of the batter and the black wire to the negative terminal.
We made a simple Caterpillar bot with this motor, a coin cell battery and some readily available kids craft supplies such as popsicle sticks, pom poms and googly eyes. Check the robot here.
DC Hobby Motor
These motors typically run on 3V - 6V voltage supply. These can rotate in either direction depending on which terminal you connect the positive terminal of the battery. The shaft diameter of this motor is typically 2mm. You can connect wheels or propellers to the shaft. Note that this has only one shaft so you can connect only one wheel or one propeller.
Dual Shaft Motor
Similar to the DC motor above, this one also runs on 3V - 6V voltage supply. These can rotate in either direction depending on which terminal you connect the positive terminal of the battery. This motor has two shafts which means you can connect two propellers or wheels to it.
Brush Motor
This one is a smaller motor and runs with ~4V batter supply. The shaft diameter is approximately 1mm.
Propellers
These attach directly to the motor shaft or can attach using an axle to the motor in the case of the dual shaft motor.
Battery Holder
These come in various sizes are are used to hold AA or AAA batteries. The holder has positive and negative wires coming out which can then be connected to the corresponding terminals of your motor.
Some battery holders come with inbuilt switch which I prefer since I then don't need to attach a separate On/Off switch to the circuit.
ON/OFF Switch
The basic function of a switch is to control the switching on and off of your robot.
These come in various shapes and sizes but the most common ones are the 2 pin ones.
Batteries
You will typically use AA, AAA, coin cell or 9V batteries for your robots.
Wires
You can use wires for connections. These come in various gauges but the ones from 24 to 28 gauge red and black wires work best.
Wheels and Axle
The DC motors have usually 2mm diameter shaft so you will need to choose the wheels accordingly. In case, you also need axle, you should choose ones with the same diameter.
In addition, you will need tools such as wire cutters, wire strippers, glue gun and sticks, duct tape, etc.