15 Robotics Projects for Middle School Students
If you are a middle school student with an interest in robotics and engineering, working on a robotics project is one of the most effective ways to explore STEM in a practical way. These projects introduce you to various STEM fields, including robotics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and more, while helping you develop your critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Working on a robotics project will give you an opportunity to develop core skills such as mathematics, coding, and engineering, and to gain relevant experience. You will also gain exposure to the engineering design process and learn the importance of testing and adopting a trial-and-error mentality.
Why should I do a robotics project in middle school?
Working on a robotics project while you are in middle school allows you to understand what a future in this field might look like. You will have the opportunity to explore various STEM pathways and discover what interests you the most. In addition, completing a project demonstrates your dedication and passion, which can strengthen your resume and high school applications. You might also get to present your work at science fairs or competitions, where you will engage with peers who share similar interests and receive feedback from educators and mentors. Beyond technical knowledge, you will develop transferable skills such as communication, project management, and research.
Here are 15 robotics projects for middle school students to start with.
If you’re looking for online tech programs, check out our blog here.
1. Brushbot
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, motors
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior knowledge required: None | no prior robotics experience required
Drawbacks: While this is a fun and simple project, it does not cover complex topics; you won’t be able to submit it to science fairs
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics
The brushbot is a simple and engaging robotics project that uses basic arts-and-crafts materials, along with a battery, wires, and a 3-volt DC motor. Once assembled, the brushbot does not move in a straight line; instead, it vibrates and travels in different directions. This behavior demonstrates how a closed electrical circuit works, showing how current flows from the battery to the motor and back. You will also gain a better understanding of the vibrations in everyday devices such as video game controllers, electric toothbrushes, and cell phones. You can decorate your brushbot with materials like googly eyes or pipe cleaners. You can further experiment by changing the materials or using more slanted brushes to observe how its movement changes.
2. Artbot
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, motors
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior knowledge required: None
Drawbacks: The battery might drain, wires might get disconnected as the robot moves, and pieces may fall off
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics or electrical engineering
An artbot builds on the same principles as a brushbot and uses an electric motor to create motion. You will use arts-and-crafts materials, batteries, wires, and a motor. During this project, you will create a closed electrical circuit and observe how the artbot moves across the surface and produces drawn patterns based on its motion. You will also place a popsicle stick on top of the artbot to observe how that weight redistributes and changes as it moves and draws. You can place the popsicle stick off-center, partially off-center, or in the center, and record your observations for each experiment. You can extend this project by experimenting with different materials to build the artbot, adjusting the number of legs, or attempting to make the artbot move in a straight line.
3. Mini Drone
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, forces
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior knowledge required: None | no prior robotics experience needed
Drawbacks: Does not cover complex topics, so you won’t be able to submit it to science fairs
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics or electrical engineering
This project gives you the opportunity to build your own drone using popsicle sticks, along with motors, wires, batteries, and propellers to get it airborne. You might face some challenges while assembling the drone. For example, if you wire your motor backward, the propeller will blow air up rather than down, preventing the drone from lifting. The drone will have limited mobility because it is connected to a battery pack via wires. This project allows you to observe what might go into building a real drone, including an onboard battery pack, sensors, and GPS. You can further experiment by adding weight to your drone or by trying to make it hover.
4. Walking Robot
Subject/Field: Robotics, motors
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior Knowledge Required: None
Drawbacks: Batteries will run out
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics or mechanical engineering
This project lets you explore the engineering design process by designing and building your own walking robot. You will use craft materials, batteries, and wires, along with a DC motor. Your walking robot will move on feet rather than wheels, using a mechanical linkage called a slider crank to convert the motor's rotational motion into a back-and-forth movement of the legs. During this project, you will not have to balance the robot, but you can extend the experiment forward by figuring out ways to achieve both movement and balance. You can also experiment with redesigning your robot, such as creating a version with four legs instead of two.
5. Jumping Robot
Subject/Field: Robotics, motors, circuits, energy
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: None
Drawbacks: Batteries will run out
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking to experience robotics, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering
This project makes use of the engineering design process, giving you the chance to build your own jumping robot. Since jumping is a motion inspired by animals, a jumping robot would be modeled after an animal and would be considered a bio-inspired robot. During this project, you will explore different forms of energy, including elastic potential energy, kinetic energy, and gravitational potential energy. This project uses materials such as motors, batteries, circuits, switches, rubber bands, high-friction materials, and smooth plastic to ensure your robot can generate the energy needed for jumping. You can extend this project further by exploring other jumping robot designs and observing how different design choices affect the robot’s jumping performance.
6. Robot Hand
Subject/Field: Robotics, engineering, prosthetics
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior Knowledge Required: None
Drawbacks: Does not cover complex topics
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics, mechanical engineering, or biomedical engineering
In this project, you will build a functional robotic hand using commonly available household items. This project follows the engineering design process, starting with giving your robot hand two fingers with a joint on each finger. After assembling the robotic hand, you can test its functionality by attempting to pick up objects of different sizes, shapes, and weights. This activity helps you learn more about the field of prosthetics and provides insight into how artificial limbs for humans are developed. You can take this project forward by improving your robot hand's design, adding more fingers, or using stronger materials so it can lift heavier objects.
7. Robotic Arm
Subject/Field: Robotics, servo motor, Arduino
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Previous experience with Arduino is recommended
Drawbacks: Previous experience with Arduino is required
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering
In modern society, robotic arms are used in a variety of applications, including assembling things in factories, collecting soil samples on Mars, and functioning as prosthetic devices for humans. In this project, you will design and build a basic robotic arm using Arduino and servo motors while following the engineering design process. You will begin by thinking about what kind of robotic arm you want to build, answering questions such as what objects it will pick up, how big it will be, how you will control it, and how many motors you will need. After building the robotic arm, you can explore ways to automate its movement and modify the grippers at its end. You will need access to the Arduino IDE software for this project.
8. Model Planetary Lander with micro:bit
Subject/Field: Robotics, space exploration, electricity & electronics, sensors,
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Some coding experience would be helpful
Drawbacks: None
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics, engineering, or aerospace engineering
In this project, you will design and build a model spacecraft lander that uses an ultrasonic sensor to measure its distance from the ground. The system uses a programmable board called a micro:bit, which will interact with the sensor. Before building your spacecraft lander, you must connect the ultrasonic sensor to the micro:bit and validate your code to avoid issues later. If you are new to programming, you can use Microsoft MakeCode to program micro:bit; otherwise, you can also use Python, JavaScript, or Scratch. Once your circuit and code are working correctly, you can proceed to build a lander that will hold your ultrasonic sensor, micro:bit, battery pack, and cables or wiring. You are required to equip your lander with features that will slow its descent (such as parachutes or streamers) and absorb impact. You can extend the project further by modifying your code, adding servo motors, or using Arduino instead of a micro:bit.
9. Steerable Robot
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, motors, engineering design process
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: None
Drawbacks: None
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering
In this project, you will design and build a steerable robot powered by two motors that control its wheels. You will also create a controller that allows you to turn each motor on and off, enabling the robot to change direction. The motors will be operated through electrical circuits, allowing you to explore concepts such as open and closed circuits while working with components like a breadboard. During this project, you will use the engineering design process to determine the robot's structure, including the placement of circuits and other components. After building the robot, you will run several iterations to identify areas for improvement, which is an important part of the engineering design process. You can take this project forward by adding more wheels, using a protoboard or perfboard instead of a breadboard, or improving the controller design.
10. Dancing Robot
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, motors
Experience Level: Beginner
Prior Knowledge Required: None
Drawbacks: Batteries might run out. Since your robot will be flipping around, pieces might keep falling off.
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering
This project gives you the chance to build and design a robot that flips and tumbles, creating a dancing motion. The robot uses two motors to move, batteries, and a breadboard to conduct electricity and control its movement. You can also customize your robot’s appearance with materials like googly eyes, stickers, or pipe cleaners. After building your dancing robot, you can use the engineering design process to take things forward. This means you will run multiple iterations by testing how the robot performs on different surfaces, observing how long components remain attached during operation, and refining the design accordingly. You could extend this project further by adding more motors, using higher voltage batteries, or adding LED lights.
11. Line-Following Robot
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, sensors, electromagnetic spectrum
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Should have experience using a breadboard
Drawbacks: You might need to troubleshoot this project several times
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for an experience in robotics, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering
In this project, you will focus on building an automatic line-following robot capable of navigating a track. To do this, your robot will use two sensors and a simple control circuit that allows it to move left and right in order to follow the line. The sensor you will be using detects infrared (IR) light, which is a type of electromagnetic radiation. It will consist of two parts: an IR emitter that emits IR light and an IR detector that detects IR light. It is important to keep in mind that sensor placement will also affect your robot’s performance. For example, if they are too close together or too far apart, your robot will have trouble following the line and might even crash. You are required to use the engineering design process when designing and testing your robot. To take this project further, you can even try adding an Arduino microcontroller to your robot.
12. Light Following Robot
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, sensors, motors
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Should have experience using a breadboard
Drawbacks: None
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for an experience in robotics, electrical engineering, manufacturing, or mechanical engineering
In this project, you will build a robot that can automatically head towards a bright light source. Your robot will do this using light sensors and a simple electrical circuit, with no programming required. You will connect motors to the wheels, and the circuit will handle making them move. The circuit will also be connected to your light sensors. When both sensors detect the same amount of light, the motors will spin at the same speed, and the robot will move towards the light. However, if the light is brighter on one side, only one motor will speed up, causing the robot to turn towards the light. This project also follows the engineering design process, so you will have to test your robot several times before arriving at the best version. You can also take this project forward by using Arduino and programming your robot to respond to light.
13. Air-Powered Soft Robotic Gripper
Subject/Field: Robotics, bio-inspired engineering, 3D printing
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: None
Drawbacks: You might experience air leaks or clogged channels. You will also need access to a 3D printer.
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for an experience in robotics, materials science & engineering, or mechanical engineering
In this project, you will build a soft robotic gripper powered by air rather than electricity that can pick up various objects. It follows the work of researchers at Harvard University on building soft robots that mimic biological systems, such as an octopus or an earthworm. Since they are made mostly of rubber, soft robots are better at handling delicate objects. This project also allows you to learn more about bio-inspired engineering and how scientists observe nature and animals for inspiration. Your soft robot should be able to bend, expand, and contract simply by pumping air into its hollow body, thereby inflating and changing shape. You will need to use a computer-aided design (CAD) program to design a mold in the desired shape you want. You will then use a 3D printer to print a plastic copy of the mold and fill it with liquid silicon. Once your silicon has solidified and your robot is ready, you can attach a squeeze bulb to it and use that to control your robot’s movements. You will need to use the engineering design process and run several tests on your robot before it is fully functional.
14. Motion-Activated Guard Robot
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, sensors
Experience Level: Intermediate
Prior Knowledge Required: Should have experience using a breadboard
Drawbacks: PIR sensor use may be complicated as it has known limitations
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for a beginner-level experience in robotics, electrical engineering, manufacturing, or mechanical engineering
During this project, you will focus on building a robot controlled by a motion-detecting sensor. To do this, your robot will need a sensor that detects changes in infrared light, called a passive infrared (PIR) sensor. PIR sensors are useful in security systems. The sensor will be connected to a circuit that powers the robot’s wheels. This means that when the sensor detects infrared light approaching the robot, it signals the circuit, which in turn starts the motors and causes the robot to move. To have a successful guard robot, you will need to use the engineering design process and test your robot. To take this project further, you can use an Arduino instead of the breadboard circuit and program your robot accordingly.
15. Obstacle Avoiding Robot
Subject/Field: Robotics, circuits, sensors
Experience Level: Intermediate to advanced
Prior Knowledge Required: Should have experience using a breadboard
Drawbacks: Slightly more advanced
Who this project is a good fit for: Students looking for an experience in robotics, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering
In this project, you will design and build an autonomous robot that can effectively avoid obstacles. Rather than giving your robot eyes (or cameras) to see the world around it, you will give it whiskers that stick out from either side. These whiskers will have circuits attached, which will send electrical signals to the robot’s wheel motors, thereby controlling its movement. Sometimes your robot will still get stuck because its whiskers might not detect obstacles directly ahead. This is where you make use of the engineering design process. You can also take this project forward by building a programmable obstacle-avoiding robot using Arduino.
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