School-Age
FromRobotics for Young Children, Ann Gadzikowski
What to have To do this activity, you will need the following materials: - Bee- Bot(s) - painter’s tape or sidewalk chalk
What to do Create a brief, simple story in which the Bee-Bot is the main character. Perhaps the children have already done this during their play with and conversations about the Bee-Bots. For example, if one of the children pretends that the Bee-Bot is looking for a flower, make up a little story that goes “Once upon a time, a Bee-Bot needed pollen from a flower. It found a flower, and it was very happy. The end.” Then invite the children to program the Bee-Bot to act out the story. Use two props to represent the starting point and the ending point. A block could be the hive where the Bee-Bot lives, and a piece of colored paper could be the flower. Challenge the children to program the Bee-Bot to travel from the starting point to the ending point.
Why Children will learn to intentionally program a machine, through a series of steps, to follow a command. They will learn the basics of coding.
For more activities check out Robotics for Young Children: STEM Activities and Simple Coding
By Ann Gadzikowski Copyright 2018 School-Age