Herbie the Mousebot, $40
Herbie the Mousebot is one of our favorites here at MAKE and has been a staple in the Shed for years. It’s a nice graduation project for kids (of all ages) moving from BrushBots and SpinBots to a full-fledged robot that can explore its environment, and even chase around other Herbies. It’s also a graceful step up from basic soldering skills to slightly fussier soldering. Herbie has an ingenious body made from three electrically-connected printed circuit boards. Whenever anybody asks me what their young roboteers should move to after mastering no-solder bots and Lego Mindstorms, I always recommend Herbie. (The image above is of my own first Herbie build.)
