Robotics for 8 - 12 years old
We provide FREE assessment!
If your child has prior Mindstorms or Spike Prime robotics experience & is interested in continuing his/her robotics journey with us, we can arrange a free assessment to enable us to recommend a suitable level for him/her.
Our Spike Prime robotics program aims to cultivate and enhance learners' conceptual thinking skills through inquiry-based learning, empowering them to transform ideas into dynamic models using interdisciplinary STEM concepts.
The program consists of three segments:
Basic
A single lesson lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Spike Fun (Spike Prime Fundamentals)
Four lessons, each also lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Continue Mission
A comprehensive series of 40 lessons, each lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Throughout each segment, learners engage in hands-on activities and guided exploration, progressively building upon their understanding of robotics and STEM principles.
Basic
1 lesson | 1 hour 45 minute | $96
Welcome to our Basic lesson – the perfect starting point for learners new to robotics! This Basic session serves as a trial lesson, offering an essential foundation in coding for precise robot movement.
In this lesson, learners will dive into coding using Scratch coding blocks and Spike Prime coding concepts. Through hands-on activities, they'll explore the functions of the hub and different motors, acquire a good understanding on various coding blocks for motor movement.
Key objectives include:
-
Understanding the functions of different motors.
-
Exploring different coding blocks for motor movement.
-
Learning to code to move and stop the robot accurately using different motor coding modes.
-
Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of different coding modes.
-
Understanding essential fractions and their relationship with decimals.
-
Applying decimals – up to 2 decimal places – in the parameters of the code.
-
Strengthening the understanding of the coding concepts through a series of challenges.
Upon completion, learners will be competent enough in coding to achieve precise robot movement.
For learners needing further practice with math concepts, the option to retake the Basic lesson ensures readiness for continued exploration in robotics. The first retake is at no cost.
Spike Fundamentals (Spike Fun)
4 lesson | 1 hour 45 minute each | $384
Spike Prime Fundamentals (Spike Fun) consists of four dynamic lessons, each lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes, designed to deepen learners' understanding of robotics and engineering concepts using Spike Prime.
Throughout these lessons, learners will:
-
Learn and apply coding concepts to execute turns with two different methods.
-
Understand commonly used angles in our daily lives, serving as a reference point for the robot's manoeuvres.
-
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of steering versus turning.
-
Familiarize themselves with additional components within the Spike Prime robotics set.
-
Learn building techniques and proper gear connections.
-
Apply engineering concepts while constructing robots.
-
Receive pointers on how to analyse mission challenges and constraints during mission briefing.
-
Design and construct robot attachments tailored to mission challenges.
-
Plan robot movement routes and sequences to successfully complete missions.
-
Explore interdisciplinary concepts from fields such as math, physics and engineering to enhance mission success as needed.
Upon completing the series of challenges in Spike Fun, learners' competency and interest will be assessed to determine readiness for progression to the Continue Mission program, where advanced techniques will be introduced to further enrich their robotics journey.
Continue Mission
40 lessons | 1 hour 45 minute each | 10 lessons $960 | 20 lessons $1,920
In the Continue Mission Program, learners delve deeper into their robotics journey, honing their skills and becoming independent all-rounders in the field. Each lesson, spanning 1 hour and 45 minutes, is meticulously crafted to foster conceptual thinking and problem-solving prowess.
The main objective is to further develop their conceptual thinking skills, nurturing them into independent all-rounders in robotics.
Other key objectives of the lessons include:
-
Discovering interdisciplinary concepts from fields such as math, physics and engineering to enhance mission success.
-
Learning advanced robot building techniques to enhance proficiency.
-
Exploring advanced coding concepts to strengthen coding skills.
-
Competently mounting single or multiple sensors onto the robot and coding them to accomplish missions, progressively taught over 40 lessons.
-
Mastering building techniques and proper gear connections.
-
Applying engineering concepts during robot construction.
-
Understanding mission briefings and guidance in identifying mission challenges.
-
Designing robot attachments tailored to mission challenges.
-
Planning robot movement routes and sequences for mission success.
Throughout the program, learners will engage in missions from former First Lego League competitions. These missions have no standard or fixed approach for success, challenging learners to analyse mission challenges and constraints independently. Learners must conceive effective and pragmatic strategies to tackle each mission successfully.
The video below showcases how learners were encouraged to employ divergent thinking when designing their robots to tackle the same mission, reflecting our teaching methodology in the lessons.
(The video was compiled from our former lessons featuring Mindstorms EV3 robots that are no longer part of our current curriculum. This is to highlight the effectiveness of our teaching methodology, regardless of the specific type of robot utilized.)
Following the analysis stage, learners will build and code their robots, engaging in an iterative process of observation and fine-tuning to optimize their robot and code before completing missions. These missions are challenging, and learners may tackle more than one simultaneously, requiring them to utilize a combination of interdisciplinary STEM concepts.
Upon completing 10 lessons or attempting 4 missions successfully, learners will also learn to code and mount sensors appropriately on their robots, further enhancing their skills and capabilities in robotics.
One of the unique challenges of the Continue Mission Program is the requirement to construct robots using only components from one set of Spike Prime robotics kit (#45678), striking a balance between inventiveness and pragmatism.
By the end of the program, learners emerge equipped with advanced robotics skills and a deep understanding of interdisciplinary STEM concepts as compared to their peers.