Build a Droid Activity: How to Make & Ideas to Enjoy

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This Build a Droid Activity is a stellar way to boost creativity and have Star Wars-inspired fun with kids.

Whether it's for a Star Wars-themed party, rainy day fun, or celebrating May the 4th Be With You, this Build a Droid Activity is perfect for Star Wars fans of all age. Using simple craft supplies and playdough, your students can create their very own custom droid or robot. This activity tray was one of my boys' favorite things to do for homeschool brian breaks and during read-aloud time, too.

I'm sharing my tips, ideas, and easy-to-follow instructions. Plus, I've got a free printable set of templates and activity mats to make it even easier to DIY your droids.

Example of build a droid activity tray for kids featuring R2-D2.

Fun Way to Boost Creativity and Fine Motor Skills

Looking for a fun and creative way to engage your kids while helping them practice their fine motor skills? Getting ready for a special Star Wars-inspired event? Well, this Build a Droid activity is a must-try!

I created something like this activity tray for each of my boys when they were younger. They LOVED it! I would set up a tray (I used an older snack-and-dip tray that we had) with different materials. I’d tweak it depending on what we had in our craft supplies or around the house. The possibilities are endless and the boys always loved the surprise of new materials to work with!

They had so much fun building their own droids, trying to recreate their favorite Star Wars characters (like R2-D2 and BB-8.) It would keep them busy during our afternoon quiet time, homeschool brain breaks, and just because.

With Star Wars Day coming soon (May 4), I wanted to make sure that I shared these ideas - and the free printable Build a Droid Activity set. Keep reading to learn more and get your freebie!

Grab The Ultimate Bundle of Star Wars Activities for all sorts of stellar fun.

What You Need for This Build a Droid Craft Activity

Bring Star Wars droids to life with this fun, hands-on activity. Kids can make their own BB-8 and R2-D2 using craft foam shapes, playdough, toy tools, and more.. This activity encourages creativity, fine motor skills, and STEM learning.

Craft foam
Playdough (various colors for details)
Toy nuts and bolts
Toy screws, screwdrivers, and wrenches
Black pom poms

I have a printable supplies list with these suggestions plus more ideas in the Build a Droid Activity Set (learn more at the bottom of this post).

104 Pack Foam Sheets Craft 5.5x8.5 inch Eva Color Foam Paper Set for Crafts Project Preschoolers Classroom Scrapbooking DIY Handcraft by MEARCOOH Play-Doh 9 Pack Favorite Color Set, Assorted Colors, 2 & 4 Ounce Modeling Compound Cans, Kids Arts & Crafts, Preschool Toys for 2 Year Old Girls & Boys & Up (Amazon Exclusive)Carl & Kay [300 Pcs] 250 1 Inch Pom Poms & 50 Googly Eyes - Craft Pom Pom Balls - Pompoms for Crafts - Pom Pom for Crafts in Bright & Bold Assorted Colors - Large Pom Poms Arts and Crafts GoodyKing Arts and Crafts Supplies for Kids - 1170Pcs+ Craft Art Supply Kit for Toddlers Kids Craft Supplies & Materials Age 4 5 6 7 8 9 - All in One D.I.Y. Crafting School Supplies (Large)Kids Handyman Tools Toy Set, 52 PCS Mechanic Pretend Play Construction Playset with Hard Hat, Nuts, Bolts - Realistic Plastic Toddler Children Accessories for Workbench

Activity tray with white foam sheets, black pom poms, yellow, blue, and red playdough balls, and plastic nuts and bolts, screwdriver, and wrench.

Ideas for Making Your Build a Droid Activity Tray

I think it's awesome that you really can't do this activity tray wrong! Look through these steps and ideas for inspiration. And then put together an activity tray (or playdough mats) based on the materials that you have.

Prepare the Droid Pieces.

Cut craft foam into the basic droid shapes—two circles for BB-8 and a rectangle with a dome top for R2-D2.

White foam circles and half oval on black construction paper.

Arrange the Tray.

Place the foam shapes on a tray. Set out black pom poms, toy nuts, bolts, and tools - whatever craft supplies that your child will be using for this activity.

Activity trays with playdough, black pom poms, and plastic nuts, bolts, wrench, and screwdriver.

Add Playdough.

Provide different colors of playdough (or homemade cloud dough) to create details like panels, buttons, and lights.

Frequently Asked Questions About This Droid Activity for Kids

Can I use other materials if I don’t have the suggested supplies?

Absolutely! If you don't have the exact materials listed, you can use any craft supplies you have on hand, such as buttons, beads, cardboard, paper straws, or even recycled items like bottle caps.

Can we use this activity for a Star Wars-themed party?

Yes! This activity is fantastic for a Star Wars-themed party, especially for May the 4th Be With You celebrations. Set up a craft station where kids can build their own droids as part of the fun!

How can I make this droid activity educational?

Turn this craft into a STEM project by talking about how real robots work and discussing the basics of engineering and robotics while kids build their droids. You can read books about droids and robots, as well as watch short videos. Encourage your kids to draw their own droids. They can also write a story about their DIY droid or dictate their tale to you to jot down.

Examples of R2-D2 and BB-8 build a droid activities.

Ideas for Enjoying These Droid Activities

If you're making an activity tray to design your droids, here are some ideas for creative play:

Assemble the Droids: Start by placing the foam cutouts together to form a droid. In the free printable activity set, I included a variety of shapes. You can use these shapes as templates and cut out different colors and sizes.
Add Playdough Details: Use playdough to add faces, panels, and droid markings.
Attach Black Pom-Poms: Stick pom-poms onto the droids as eyes, sensors, or mechanical parts.
Attach with Nuts & Bolts: Use toy nuts and bolts to "secure" the parts together.
Use Tools: Pretend to tighten and adjust parts with toy screwdrivers and wrenches.

If you'd like to use the playdough mats found in the Build a Droid Activity Set, I encourage you to print those pages on white cardstock and laminate. Your children will be able to use the mats again and again. Also, I included a blank playdough mat for your kids to truly design their own droid!

Get Your Free Printable Build a Droid Activity Mats and Templates

This pack of Build a Droid activities includes 5 pages (and terms of use page). You'll find:

Build a Droid Activity Supplies Checklist and Instructions
3 Build a Droid playdough mats (1 for R2-D2, 1 for BB-8, and blank)
3 pages of shape templates for droid parts

You can print as many of these activities as you need to use with your students at home, in the classroom, and at the library. Please share this post if you know others who love to make learning fun!

To get this free printable set, simply subscribe (for free) to Rock Your Homeschool.

⭐️ An email will be sent to your inbox with the PDF file plus a password to open the VIP Resource Library to all RYHS freebies. Please email Amy at rockyourhomeschool@gmail.com if you have any issues!

You'll also be added to our email list and receive emails with ideas, resources, and encouragement to make life and learning fun.

(Current VIP member of Rock Your Homeschool? Nice! All you need to do is go to the VIP Resource Library and enter the password in your welcome email.)

⭐ Get your free Build a Droid Activity set now! ⭐

Examples from the free printable Build a Droid activity set with playdough mats, supplies checklist, and shapes templates.

More Fantastic Ways to Have Star Wars Fun with Kids

Keep your droid fun going! If you're using this activity set as part of rainy day fun, Star Wars Day celebration, or just want to boost the fun, pair it with some of our free printables and activities, like:

⭐ I hope that you have stellar fun with this Build a Droid Activity Set! Do you have any question about this printable pack or the activities? Oh, and I would LOVE to hear how your custom droid creation goes! Please share in the comments area at the bottom of this post.

Build a Droid Activity: How to Make & Ideas to Enjoy (Free)