One of the key ways that students can challenge and improve their mechanical intuition (and for instructors to assess student understanding) is through creating a model to emulate an artifact’s functions. We see emulation as that important process that is akin to tinkering. It is the ability to dissect and understand how a machine functions, create or repair it to reestablish that function, and to observe the differences between functioning artifacts. Within their junior year of study, mechanical engineering students explore machine design both at the detailed level of component geometry and materials, and at the functional behaviors achieved by a system of components. A major contribution to developing intuition in these areas is to emulate or tinker with existing commercial products. The Lego Mindstorms kits, which are a successful medium for quickly modeling machines is a familiar media for most students and flexible enough to capture a significant range electromechanical functions.
 

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