Greetings all, I’ve been tinkering a little bit with my 9YO 4th grader (turns 10 in Jan). He did one of the Snap robots 2 years ago, but it was a little to childish for him. He’s really getting into seeing what different variable values do, and of course what happens when he pushes a button based on what code we’ve written together.
So my question to the Forum… is the tracked robotshop kit a good fit for this age? Or am i getting ahead of myself? If nothing else, i see it as good father/son bonding time; and I’d much rather have him (and his younger sibblings) tinkering instead of playing with the XBox.
And more so, which one is right? Is the baseline tracked robot good, or ideally would we want to get the ZBee components so its controllable from his PC and RF, or even from his tablet?
It comes down to a basic question: would you like him to learn about programing, or is it mainly to get him interested? The Sparki robot offers great value, but it’s primarily a programmable platform. It’s best for late elementary / early high school, and so long as you are there to guide him, it should be a safe choice. Some other options include the 535 with computer interface and the scribbler.
Honestly, he is likely a bit young for it; we suggest it for at least 14 years and up. This is not to say that he may in fact be ready - we can only generalize. See how comfortable he is with arduino.cc
True - and if he becomes good at programming, he may make his own “real life” versions of the robots he sees in those games. A good investment at his age would be the Mindstorms EV3: robotshop.com/en/lego-mindstorms-ev3-us-version.html
Given the number of third party products, and the fact that the NXT2.0 was used all the way up to graduate level research, it should provide years of enjoyment and learning. Another option would be VEX IQ, though it is newer on the market: robotshop.com/en/vex-iq-construction-kits.html
The basic robot can move when connected to a computer via USB and is really intended for customers who don’t want to be forced into buying parts they don’t need. Aside from that, you can compile code, but it really needs additional parts. The XBee and Bluetooth kits allow for remote control, but only the Autonomous Kit includes a variety of parts to really allow someoen to experiment with Arduino. Once again, we feel this would be quite a few levels too high and the autonomous kit is really suggested for late high school / college since the focus is custom programming.
Coleman, thoughts on the ArcBotics Sparki Robot? I was hoping to not spend 300+USD on a first kit. But really looking for guidance from your group and others in the forums.
Thanks. We’ve been toying w/ the basic Uno and some simple sensors, outputs, circuits and he is getting some basic programming, but i’m doing most of it. Loving seeing the outcome of it and tweaking the code a little with me. Need to make a quick determination so there’s something cooler than the latest minecraft game under the tree.
