Meet Bot.

S and I enjoy our mini Recycled Robots so much, I was inspired to make a bigger version.  I love life-sized things (like our Felt Board), but I also thought I could use his body as a magnet board.  It works brilliantly!  So for any of you who want a magnet board, but don't have wall space - this works a dream!!!

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For materials we used some cardboard boxes, white duct tape, six tall aluminum cans (our beans come in these tall cans - we use them to make chili!), three regular sized aluminum cans, HVAC venting, a thick mailing tube, aluminum foil, a box cutter, and a hot glue gun.

Since making Bot is at least a little involved, we decided to make a family project out of it this past weekend.  S was in charge of making Bot's fingers.  She decided he should have ten fingers, and based off the size finger she wanted, I pre-cut ten pieces of aluminum foil for her and she went to work shaping fingers.

My husband had a vision for Bot's feet (they need to be nice and big to prevent the robot from tipping), so he was in charge of that.

X...well, X was in charge of looking cute.  And exploring boxes.

Here's a back view of Bot so I can talk more about how he's constructed.  I took the three "head" cans and laid a piece of duct tape along the back of them to hold them together (loosely, granted).  I then used the measurements of the cans (height and width) to cut four pieces of cardboard to make a rectangle around them.  I used the white duct tape along all the edges of everything, as well as to hold cardboard pieces together.  Once I had the cans "boxed" in, I used a glue gun on the back of Bot's head along the edges of the cans and between them to lock them in place.  I repeated this same procedure to make Bot's body.

I cut the HVAC venting roughly in half, and then squeezed the far opening in half to close it.  Along that seam, I used the hot glue gun again to attach each of Bot's foil fingers.  I used hot glue along the circumference of the HVAC venting to attach Bot's finished arms.

I used hot glue again to attach Bot's ear pieces and his legs.  My husband used a box cutter to cut out an opening for the cardboard mailing tube to sit inside Bot's box feet.  We used hot glue at the base to make Bot's tube legs more stable.

S decorated Bot's face completely by herself (it's SO CUTE!) and then set to work decorating his body.  We used several of the magnets we created for our Recycled Robots (you can read more about how we made them in that post if you're curious) plus some of our beloved Tegu blocks and some of our geometric Melissa and Doug magnets.

It really is a good amount of magnetic space (and you could, of course, build an even bigger robot) for those of you looking for an alternate to a wall mounted magnet board.

We took Bot outside for a photo shoot because it was too dark inside with our gloomy weather.  I just adore how S made his tiny hat and cute little cheeks with the Tegu blocks.

Best friends!

And then today we took a few more photos indoors.

I love that he's almost as tall as S!

We love our Bot and hope we've inspired you to create your own.  If you do, we'd love to see a picture on our Facebook or Google+ wall!!!

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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children.  As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family.  I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision.  Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies).  Observe caution and safety at all times.  The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.