Nick enjoys sharing his knowledge and passion for robotics with kids attending his after-school robot clubs. In the clubs children as young as 10 can learn to program robots, while older kids can learn to build their own robots with Nick's help. With careful selection of a variety of robots to suit every age group, he has introduced many children to the wonderful world of robotics!

For younger kids he uses simple robots such as the Dash and Dot robots (left) for which he backed the original Kickstarter. The robots are cute, fun and appealing and are programmed over bluetooth with a Scratch-based visual drag-and-drop app on iPads. This entry level robot gives kids the thrill of programming a robot and making it move, a seemingly magical act that never ceases to delight. Simple tasks such as "follow a path" or "draw a shape" ignite a passion for programming and more complex tasks using the catapult or other accessories push and challenge a young mind. The end of class robot races are always fun!

Older children can experience the full robot experience by building and programming a robot from the ground up. Using several different kit robots, including Lego Mindstorms, the kids can design, build and then program a robot for a specific task. This is quite a challenging task for anyone and the sense of achievement when the robot is working is a great thing.

Programming a robot that the child has actually assembled is a very satisfying and rewarding experience, and Nick can provide guidance and assistance in all aspects of the process.

Having started his robotic adventures in Lego himself, Nick loves to work with kids and Lego Mindstorms.


 

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