Learning the basics of coding is becoming as important as reading and math skills for young children. There are a number of ways for kids to learn, but the best is sneaking learning exercises into doing fun stuff, and speaking as the parent of a 5-year-old, it’s nearly universal that trucks and building things will attract children. Enter UBTech’s BuilderBots.
The BuilderBots are kits that snap together and come with motors, lights, and everything else to make the robots, plus companion iPhone/Android apps to control them. From UBTech:
- Easy-to-follow 3D building instructions that offer full 360-degree viewing, so you
can see the model from every angle throughout the building process.- An in-app “joystick” remote to control your robot on your smartphone or tablet.
- Pre-programmed actions help you get moving and create your own robot actions.
- Blockly coding to program limitless possibilities with either DozerBot or DirtBot.
- Fun ways to share your robot with friends in the app community.
- A new series of lessons that kids can follow to expand their Blockly coding skills.
These sound super fun to me, and I’m an adult. This is a great way to teach kids about how coding works in a hands-on way, especially since the end result is a toy they can control. At $119.99, these aren’t cheap, but they aren’t much more than a complex Lego set, and they take the concept of building to a whole new level! They’ll be for sale at Target, Amazon, and urobots.com, and we’ll have a full review of them soon!
