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Make Your Cartoon Think

Make Your Cartoon Think
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Create a cardboard cartoon character with simple circuits or a microcontroller so its eyes, mouth, and reactions move and respond like it is thinking.

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Step-by-step guide to Make Your Cartoon Think

What you need
220 ohm resistor, adult supervision required, battery pack for servos, cardboard, colouring materials, glue, jumper wires, leds, microcontroller like micro:bit or arduino with usb cable, pencil, ruler, scissors, small servo motor, tape

Step 1

Draw a fun cartoon character shape on the cardboard and mark where the eyes and mouth will go so you know where the moving parts should sit.

Step 2

Cut out the character shape from the cardboard along your drawing to make the front piece for your puppet.

Step 3

Carefully cut out round holes for the eyes and a slot or hole for the mouth where you marked them.

Step 4

Decorate the face and body with colours and details so your character looks lively and friendly.

Step 5

Glue small cardboard discs or paper “eyes” onto the horn of a small servo so the disc will turn and look like a moving eye.

Step 6

Tape or glue the eye servo to the back of the cardboard so the servo horn lines up and can turn the eye disc inside the eye hole.

Step 7

Make a simple mouth flap from extra cardboard and glue it to another servo horn so the servo can open and close the mouth.

Step 8

Ask an adult to help connect the servos and the LEDs to the microcontroller and battery pack making sure power goes to the servo power line and all grounds are connected and each LED is wired through a 220 ohm resistor to a digital pin.

Step 9

Use the microcontroller’s block or simple code editor to write a short program that blinks the LEDs and moves the servos in a “thinking” pattern and upload the program to the microcontroller.

Step 10

Turn on the battery pack and run your program to test the eyes and mouth and gently adjust the servo positions or glued pieces so the movements look smooth.

Step 11

Take a photo or video of your finished thinking cartoon and share your creation on DIY.org

Final steps

You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!

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Help!?

What can I use if I can't find small servos or a microcontroller?

If you can't find small servos or a microcontroller, substitute hobby-sized servos (mounted the same way when you tape or glue the eye servo to the back) and use an Arduino-compatible board or a simple battery-operated LED flasher in place of the microcontroller and still wire LEDs through 220 ohm resistors as described.

The eyes or mouth don't move smoothly after I test the puppet—what should I check?

If movement is jerky, gently re-position or re-glue the servo horns so the eye discs and mouth flap line up with the cardboard holes and also verify the servo power line and all grounds are correctly connected as instructed when connecting servos and LEDs to the microcontroller and battery pack.

How can I adapt this project for different ages?

For preschoolers have an adult do the cutting and the wiring so they focus on drawing and decorating, for elementary kids let them cut, glue the servos, and test movements with supervision, and for older kids let them wire the microcontroller and write the blinking-and-servomotion code in the block editor themselves as in the instructions.

How can we extend or personalize the thinking cartoon after finishing the basic build?

You can personalize it by painting details on the cardboard, adding multiple colored LEDs each wired through a 220 ohm resistor for different moods, attaching a small speaker to the microcontroller to play thinking sounds, or programming extra servo sequences for more expressions.

Watch videos on how to Make Your Cartoon Think

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Facts about electronics and physical computing for kids

🤖 Animatronics blend mechanics, electronics, and puppetry to make characters move realistically in movies and theme parks.

📦 Cardboard is one of the most recycled materials — historically around 80–90% of corrugated cardboard gets recycled in many countries.

🔌 Modern microcontrollers can cost just a few dollars and are powerful enough to run sensors, lights, and tiny motors for interactive toys.

🎭 Puppetry is an ancient art that dates back thousands of years — early puppet finds and texts go back over 4,000 years.

🪙 The Arduino platform launched in 2005 in Italy and made programming hardware easier and popular for kids, artists, and makers.

How do I make a cardboard cartoon that moves and responds like it's thinking?

To make a thinking cardboard cartoon, sketch and cut your character, plan where eyes, mouth, and moving parts will go, then mount micro servos or small motors behind those areas. Wire LEDs for eyes and connect servos and LEDs to a microcontroller (Arduino, micro:bit, or Adafruit Circuit Playground). Add sensors (button, light, distance) so reactions trigger, write simple code for blinking, mouth movement, or head tilts, secure power (battery pack), test, then decorate. Ask an adult to help with

What materials and electronics do I need to build a 'Make Your Cartoon Think' project?

You’ll need cardboard or foam board, craft knife and cutting mat, pencil and ruler, hot glue and tape, small servos (2–3 micro servos), jumper wires, a microcontroller (Arduino Uno/Nano, micro:bit, or Adafruit Circuit Playground), a USB cable or battery pack, LEDs and resistors, optional buzzer or small speaker, a breadboard or servo driver, sensors (button, ultrasonic, or light), markers, paint, and googly eyes. For younger kids, use preassembled motorized kits to avoid soldering.

What ages is the 'Make Your Cartoon Think' activity suitable for?

This project suits different ages with supervision levels: ages 5–7 can participate with heavy adult help using prebuilt motors and no tools; ages 8–12 can assemble simple circuits and follow block-style code with guidance; teens 13+ can design, wire, and program microcontrollers independently. Adjust complexity: use LEDs instead of servos for younger children, and add sensors and custom code for older kids. Always supervise cutting, hot glue, soldering, and batteries for safety.

What educational benefits do children get from making a thinking cardboard cartoon?

Building a thinking cardboard cartoon teaches STEAM skills: basic electronics, coding logic, and mechanical design. It develops fine motor skills, problem-solving, sequencing, and creativity while boosting confidence through building and debugging. Kids practice computational thinking when planning sensors and reactions and learn teamwork if they collaborate. The hands-on, visual results make abstract concepts tangible, motivating further learning in robotics, art, and engineering.
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Make Your Cartoon Think. Activities for Kids.