Reddit reviews Robot Builder's Bonanza, 4th Edition

For elementary kids, I would highly recommend them checking out FIRST robotics. They have a lot of different age levels for robotic interest. Or if you don’t want to go through an organized group, check out LEGO Mindstorms for building robotics.
Finally, check this book out if you just want a general introduction to building robotics (see if a library has it first before buying it) Robot Builder’s Bonanza

Edit: If you have more questions on FIRST I’d be happy to answer them but this should be a good starting point

You should get a project book.

Something like the Robot Builder Bonanza might be nice, it's all about making your own bots rather than assembling a kit but still worth it, especially since you can shop around for individual components and save money.

I recommend Robot Builder's Bonanza 4th Ed.

Also, check the wiki!

I'll tell you "how to start": Pick up all the editions (there are 4 current ones) of this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Robot-Builders-Bonanza-Gordon-McComb/dp/0071750363

That's the latest one right there - but I promise, you really want the first edition (back when it was still a TAB book). Gordon McComb will guide you one this quest, because he comes from the old school of 1970s and 1980s hobbyist robot builders.

In fact, if you can find copies of the old TAB robotics books by Frank DaCosta ("How to Build Your Own Working Robot Pet"), David L. Heiserman ("How to Design and Build Your Own Custom Robot" - among others), and Edward L. Safford Jr. ("The Complete Handbook of Robotics" - and others) - so much the better.

These are all fairly out-dated books when it comes to the electronics (with the exception of the Bananza books - though the first edition is kinda long in tooth), but the mechanics and ideas are what you may really need and want. Back then, whether you were a university or an individual, if you wanted a robot, you were building it from scratch with whatever you could get your hands on and bodge together most of the time. Sometimes as cheaply as possible, using whatever surplus parts you could find, beg, borrow or steal.

Need a low-cost 2-wheel platform for your robot that can haul hundreds of pounds? Repurpose a used 2-wheel differential drive power mobility chair!

Build the arm out of old electrical conduit and windshield wiper motors; use some potentiometers for angular feedback. Bolt, epoxy, or weld the whole thing together.

Gain an eye for going to the hardware store (or scrounging the trash on bulk-trash days or the junkyard) and looking at things and saying "Yeah - that'd make a right-fine robot chassis there!".

Ya gotta learn to think about things in a different way; I sometimes go to the grocery store and manage to see things that would work great for robotics. I always see things along the side of the road, or in the trash, or at a junkyard, or a pick-ur-part, or hardware store - tons of things that would work for robots! Thrift stores like Goodwill can be excellent robot parts places - if you know how to see!

But those books above will show you how to start, I promise! Give them a go - and don't think you need a ton of money to do robotics - because you don't.

Many years ago i started with this book, it has been updated to keep up with technology and is great for beginners:

http://www.amazon.com/Robot-Builders-Bonanza-4th-Edition/dp/0071750363/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1YS0Z9X2H3V1P95JTC9Q

I am the same way as you, i need to be hands on to learn, this book realy helped me.

Hello! I've always liked this website as a quick primer: http://www.societyofrobots.com/

I remember liking this book a lot when I first started: http://www.apress.com/us/book/9781430227540 but it's a little more advanced and there's a beginner book as well: https://www.amazon.com/Robot-Building-Beginners-Technology-Action/dp/1430227486

Those books are pretty electrical focused, but if you want to learn more of the software (especially if you don't know much/any programming) I'd recommend the Lego Mindstorms.

Finally there's this book: https://www.amazon.com/Robot-Builders-Bonanza-Gordon-McComb/dp/0071750363 which is a pretty good overall reference and enjoyable to read through.

Disclaimer: I read these books over a decade ago. While they're still relevant some stuff in them is dated (especially the microchip programming portions)

I'm in a similar boat as you and recently picked up Robot Builder's Bonanza, 4th edition (https://www.amazon.com/Robot-Builders-Bonanza-Gordon-McComb-dp-0071750363/dp/0071750363/). It's a couple hundred pages containing a significant amount of information on understanding how to construct a robot start to finish. For the electrical engineering side, the website https://www.allaboutcircuits.com is the way to go when starting out. That site is chock-full of educational material, and it's totally free.

https://www.amazon.com/Robot-Builders-Bonanza-Gordon-McComb/dp/0071750363