After the first two years teaching my "eggbot" class at the Museum, I was asked if I might be able to try something less complicated for younger kids. In pursuit of this goal, I started looking for a stepper project that used only a single motor. A combination of events (my wife returning from a trip to the Czech Republic, with a cool colored sand and water curio and finding petri dishes at my local favorite scrap shop) led to the creation of the first shimmibot, so named because I simply programmed the motor to go back and forth quickly.

I have now taught the shimmibot class (a single week, 15 hours) to two groups of 10-12 year olds with good results.