I presented brush/bristlebots on National Teach in Day several years ago at an elementary school over by Tampa. I do not give the students instructions; I tell them that this is a lesson in creativity and that they can make their robot any way they want to make it. I get many groans and many people copying their neighbors, but I am always surprised by a few students. I always have at least one student in a group of 45-50 students that figures out that little kit of parts in about five minutes. This particular day was no exception. I had one student make three robots during his workshop time with me. At the end of the class, he put his arms around me and hugged me tight while he told me thank you and how much he enjoyed my workshop.
Every year, I present a workshop at an engineering magnet school to get young ladies interested in engineering. We reach about 180 young ladies each year from middle school to high school. I have one student who loves to hear me present each year. I had no idea until she walked up to me in 2011 after my presentation and told me that she wants to do exactly what I do, how much she enjoys hearing me speak, and that was the third time she had heard me present (different topics). I found out from my friend who happened to be the chaperone for her group that she was disappointed this past year because she was in my last group of the day and my mobile phone had been stolen from the desk where I was teaching the lesson. Thus, I was in the office with the Police when I was supposed to be presenting to her group.
These moments are indeed what makes it all worth it.