Resource of the Week Archive
Resource
of the Week
20 October -
25 October 2013
Clohe Project
A pan-european educational project using mechanical moving toys (Automata) as tools to enhance learning at Primary level. Includes links to videos on how to create mechanical toys and support materials relating to how to get involved in the project. The use of these toys serve to introduce concepts in engineering, arts, sculpture, mechanics and science, by combining play and technology.
How it maps to the curriculum
- 5-6
- Visual Arts
Strand: Construction
Strand unit: Making Constructions
Content objective: This resource should enable a child to:
- explore and experiment with the properties and characteristics of materials in making structures
- make imaginative structures
Suggestions for use: There are two main approaches to using these toys to support learning, one relies on creating a toy as a result of a stimulus from a story and other as part of an investigation during Science class. In either case the creation and manipulation of toys facilitate creative play and problem solving.
Why is it Resource of the Week?
- It's an interesting project using objects that have true educational value
- It includes an online virtual museum that showcases a selection of children's creations
- There are still opportunities for schools to be involved
- A useful overview of the toys is available on the About Automata page
- A description of Resources is presented to help get you started.
