Practices to Prototype Planar Link Mechanisms with 1 DOF for Elementary School, Junior High School and High School Students

To stop the trend of elementary, junior high, and high school students away from the mathematics and sciences, and to encourage their interest not only in sciences but also in engineering, the author has planned and conducted visiting classes to design and prototype a mechanism. Paper craft models of a leg mechanism for biped walking machine and a dancing mechanism are designed as planar closed-loop link mechanisms with only 1 DOF based on the systematic kinematic analysis of planar closed-loop link mechanisms. The fabrication processes which children can build safely and quickly with inexpensive materials such as a tack seal sheet and construction papers and simple tools such as scissors and an eyelet punch are established. These visiting classes were conducted at several elementary and high schools, and almost of children and students were pleased to have completed a working paper craft model and were interested in mechanisms and machines.