Recommendations for a robot kit to build to with my two young sons?
November 22, 2013 2:29 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for recommendations, please, for a robot kit to with my two young sons, 9 and 7. I want it to be a serious project, which will produce a fairly sophisticated animal-like robot, with sensors, navigational abilities, learning abilities, etc. I also want the project to be educational, so that the kids learn something about robotics, electronics, and computing.
Ideally I'd like to robot to be extendable by adding new modules, so that the project can continue after the initial build. I don't want a completely prefabricated thing that just needs clipping together. But I don't have resources to fabricate parts from scratch, and I want the kids to be able to do some of the simpler building work themselves, so I'll need a kit of some kind. I'm ok with simple soldering. Also, I'm in Europe (in Greece) so the kit/parts will need to available internationally. Budget is flexible, but I'd like to do the initial build for under $250 if possible. Has anyone any recommendations, please? And if anyone has attempted a similar project with their kids, I'd be grateful for any insights and advice. Thanks!
Ideally I'd like to robot to be extendable by adding new modules, so that the project can continue after the initial build. I don't want a completely prefabricated thing that just needs clipping together. But I don't have resources to fabricate parts from scratch, and I want the kids to be able to do some of the simpler building work themselves, so I'll need a kit of some kind. I'm ok with simple soldering. Also, I'm in Europe (in Greece) so the kit/parts will need to available internationally. Budget is flexible, but I'd like to do the initial build for under $250 if possible. Has anyone any recommendations, please? And if anyone has attempted a similar project with their kids, I'd be grateful for any insights and advice. Thanks!
Looks like the NXT 3.0, which is the latest starter set, is set at 349.99, but you can ebay the NXT 2.0 for substantially cheaper.
posted by rockindata at 2:41 PM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by rockindata at 2:41 PM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Some places I'd suggest you start are Mindstorms, like rockindata suggests on preview, and some of the kit projects from the Makerstore. Adafruit and Sparkfun also have robotics kits and projects. (I am not good at understanding what's age appropriate or whether various things are available outside the US, so if I'm way off, sorry!)
The only real tip I do have is to make sure you do the boring initial work so the kids can start out with something that already does something. Do not give a kid a Raspberry Pi or something and expect them to set everything up on it before it does anything cool.
Ask the Worst and Meanest Auntie Ever how she knows.
posted by ernielundquist at 2:47 PM on November 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
The only real tip I do have is to make sure you do the boring initial work so the kids can start out with something that already does something. Do not give a kid a Raspberry Pi or something and expect them to set everything up on it before it does anything cool.
Ask the Worst and Meanest Auntie Ever how she knows.
posted by ernielundquist at 2:47 PM on November 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Lego Mindstorms is a great introduction to robotics. Ignore the association you might have that "Lego = toys," it's a very capable introductory platform. It's highly extensible, has a ton of community support, offers a relatively gentle learning curve, and can do some pretty advanced stuff once you get good with it so there's a lot of room to grow. Also it's compatible with regular Lego, which is a great bonus if your kids are already into that.
Definitely the best starting point for kids, in my opinion. They may eventually outgrow it if they develop a serious interest in robotics, but it will be easy for them to get their feet wet with and will grow with them for quite a while. With kids of the ages that you have you want something that they can start Doing Stuff with right away, so that they don't get bored and become turned off to the whole idea of robotics in general. Mindstorms will provide that, and will continue to reveal new capabilities as their expertise increases.
You probably don't need to get the latest-greatest-most-expensive kit unless your kids are already begging for that specific thing. Since they're just starting out, a less-expensive kit will be totally fine for now. It will still provide them with a near-infinite number of possibilities for exploration and learning.
posted by Scientist at 3:24 PM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Definitely the best starting point for kids, in my opinion. They may eventually outgrow it if they develop a serious interest in robotics, but it will be easy for them to get their feet wet with and will grow with them for quite a while. With kids of the ages that you have you want something that they can start Doing Stuff with right away, so that they don't get bored and become turned off to the whole idea of robotics in general. Mindstorms will provide that, and will continue to reveal new capabilities as their expertise increases.
You probably don't need to get the latest-greatest-most-expensive kit unless your kids are already begging for that specific thing. Since they're just starting out, a less-expensive kit will be totally fine for now. It will still provide them with a near-infinite number of possibilities for exploration and learning.
posted by Scientist at 3:24 PM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Look into the various Vex platforms if you feel the Mindstorms are out of your price range.
posted by olinerd at 8:14 PM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by olinerd at 8:14 PM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the replies, which were very helpful. I think it will be Mindstorms for Christmas!
posted by kitfreeman at 2:07 PM on November 23, 2013
posted by kitfreeman at 2:07 PM on November 23, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rockindata at 2:37 PM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]