Noah loved Botley the coding robot from Learning Resources. The set comes with lots of pieces, 77 to help you get the most out of him. Children as young as 5 can use Botley, which is brilliant. Noah had lots of fun learning how to use him.
Coding mode
This is the mode that Noah enjoyed the most. He found it hilarious that he would press the buttons and Botley would move where he told him. He found it a little bizarre to begin with because he thought it would be like a remote control car. But he soon got used to how the transmitter worked.
The transmitter allows Botley to go forward, backward, left and right. You can press the buttons as much as you like and press transmit and Botley will move in the direction that you program.
Detecting an object is such a cool tool. Botley will stop when he detects an object and then he moves where you told him. It is so clever. He has a sensor in-between his nose to detect objects.
Noah had lots of fun lining up some of the objects to get Botley to do an assault course then try to move some objects to the finish line. It amazed me how quickly he picked it all up.
Line mode
The other mode that Botley has is line mode, this means he will follow a line (4mm-10mm wide) and Noah thought this was amazing. Noah placed the cards out on the floor for Botley to follow and he did. He uses a sensor under his belly to detect the black line. Noah wants to draw a route on a big piece of paper to see if Botley can follow it.
You can buy this fabulous bumper pack of pieces for Botley the coding robot for £79 on the Learning Resources website. This entertained Noah for hours and it was wonderful to see his little mind whirring about how he can develop the fun further. I am sure he will have a great assault course set up in the morning.
