Lucy Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Hello, anyone have a recommendation for robotics for my 12yo dd? I'm looking into Mindstorms but wondering if its worth the money. Any direction you can give me would be greatly appreciated! :) I also posted this question on the middle school board. Rondi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Robotics is part mechanics, part electronics, and part programming. Does your daughter have experience in any of these fields? Does she have special interest in any of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 :lurk5: Ds is only 8, but very interested in building and such. Keeping my eyes open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinmami01 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I have my eyes on this: http://robomatter.com/Shop-By-Product-Type/Curriculum/Middle-School/NXT/Robotics-Engineering-Vol.-1-Introduction-To-Mobile-Robotics-Home-School-Edition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Dragon: Yes, my daughter looooves the computer and says she wants to study programming. She bought a robot kit at a garage sale this summer and had a ball putting it together - she loves that it has a remote and a camera to hook up to the tv so she can control it from another room! So, interest: yes! Experience: no. I don't know anything about this kind of stuff, but she seems to love it - so I'm looking for something to encourage it in her. :) Twin Miami: That homeschool curriculum looks interesting! I wish you could look inside it and see what it is like! Know anyone who has used it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonersl Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I am not sure where you are located but have you looked into First Lego League or any local clubs/groups that do robotics? We are in NC and recently signed up 2 of our kids for Cyberkids ( http://cyberkidsrobotics.com/Home.php) which teaches robotics and offers competitions. Legos also offers WeDo which is part of their Education program (http://www.legoeducation.us/eng/characteristics/ProductLine~LEGO%20Education%20WeDo). It is pricey but an alternative to Mindstorm and can be purchased for groups or for individuals. Hope this helps or is at least a springboard for finding some more information. Good luck and happy building and programming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) I'm looking for something to encourage it in her. :) Ah. Well, there are a number of fun little kits out there, but the book I think my son would most recommend is 123 Robotics Experiments for the Evil Genius. It's pretty step-by-step. It's inexpensive used, parts are easily found, and it covers all your bases for learning to build your own bots. My son was born with a soldering iron in his hand, so I can't recommend any kind of pre-built robotics stuff. There are organizations in our area that offer one-off sessions with Lego Mindstorms to a small group, though. You get to play with the stuff and you don't have to invest in a kit before you have experience with it. Perhaps there's a Bits Bytes and Bots in your area. Edited February 15, 2012 by dragons in the flower bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Oh, also, you should definitely get that girl a subscription to MAKE magazine. Sooo much inspiration for anyone who likes programming and building things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinmami01 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Twin Miami: That homeschool curriculum looks interesting! I wish you could look inside it and see what it is like! Know anyone who has used it? No, I don't know anyone who has used it. I can't even remember how I came across that link, but I saved it, hoping that one day I would order it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtotkbb Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My 13 yo ds used this pkg - http://www.legoeducation.us/eng/product/lego_mindstorms_nxt_homeschool_pack_with_curriculum_i/1467 and an additional kit that I'm not finding on the Lego education site. He has Loved it - completed the majority on his own and then demonstrates to us what he's learned/can do. We also have a few books that include additional building/programming ideas. Now that we know how much he enjoys it we will do the Carneige Mellon program for a high school elective. In our case it was not a waste of money. We also have the WeDo sets for our 8 yo - bec his attention span is so short he hasn't used it a great deal - but our 13 yo has enjoyed making them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Any recommendations for a kid a bit younger? Ds has completed all the Lego mechanics education sets, and Lego engineering camp, but I'm not sure if he is ready for Mindstorms and he reads only about at grade level (but can read any schematics). What would you do with a younger robotics kid (other than WeDo or Snap Circuits)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtotkbb Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 For elementary take a look at this set: http://www.legoeducation.us/eng/product/lego_education_wedo_robotics_homeschool_pack/1736 It great for a dc that isn't ready yet to go into Mindstorms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My oldest son used this book and the intermediate book to build robots. http://www.amazon.com/Robot-Building-Beginners-David-Cook/dp/1893115445/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329399022&sr=1-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Any recommendations for a kid a bit younger? Ds has completed all the Lego mechanics education sets, and Lego engineering camp, but I'm not sure if he is ready for Mindstorms and he reads only about at grade level (but can read any schematics). What would you do with a younger robotics kid (other than WeDo or Snap Circuits)? He should do fine with Mindstorms. It comes with a drag and drop visual programming environment, and instructions are available for constructing a wide range of robots to get him started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVNA Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Any recommendations for a kid a bit younger? Ds has completed all the Lego mechanics education sets, and Lego engineering camp, but I'm not sure if he is ready for Mindstorms and he reads only about at grade level (but can read any schematics). What would you do with a younger robotics kid (other than WeDo or Snap Circuits)? I'm not sure what age you are looking for, but my 6 yo daughter has a lot of fun with her Mindstorms kit. She needs some help with it, but does a lot on her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVNA Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Hello, anyone have a recommendation for robotics for my 12yo dd? I'm looking into Mindstorms but wondering if its worth the money. Any direction you can give me would be greatly appreciated! :) I also posted this question on the middle school board. Rondi For a 12 year old, I'd highly recommend getting onto a First Lego League team. The Mindstorm kit is a bit pricey, but based on my experience is well worth it. However, having a Mindstorm kit is not a requirement to get onto a FLL team. I was a coach of one last fall and there were several kids on the team who didn't own one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Wow! Great suggestions and tips everyone! I just ordered Make Magazine and I think I'll get the Mindstorms Kit. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 He should do fine with Mindstorms. It comes with a drag and drop visual programming environment, and instructions are available for constructing a wide range of robots to get him started. :iagree: to an extent. My dds could not do the programming alone...yet....without help from dh. We bought this Mindstorms book which has been a great launching pad. I mentioned in the other thread on the logic board that my dds take a robotics class at our local science center in Portland. The teacher gives the kids challenges to work on during the week. Their assignment for Tuesday is to program their robot to dance. To Fair Prospects, let me know if you need more help. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelAR05 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My daughter is only 8 and she has really enjoyed this OLLO Action Kit . I will also get OLLO Explorer Robot Kit in the future. Off to look at the other recommendations. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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