I often occupy my time during the cold winter months
designing a new STEM activity. This year I wrote a storybook about a group of
robots who compete in the
Office Olympics during
Send Your Robot toWork Day.
The book is based around Botley, a coding robot from Learning
Resources. In the story, Botley is owned by Mr V, a wacky inventor who spends
his days designing goofy gadgets for science teachers. As Botley and his
friends compete in the Olympic events, they discover that someone is trying to
sabotage the competition – magnets slow down motors, coding cards get switched,
lights are turned off during line following. These are just a few of the many
obstacles Botley and his friends must overcome.
There are 13 coding exercises sprinkled throughout the book.
As kids follow along with the story, they are encouraged to pause and replicate
Botley’s moves using the coding instructions found in the
Try It Yourself
sections. They can learn to make Botley talk, navigate a maze, follow lines,
spin around, dance, and avoid obstacles (with Botley’s included activity set,
it’s easy to create unique playing fields). Botley uses a Remote Programmer for
coding rather than a computer or tablet making it the perfect beginning robot
for those young students who haven’t yet learned to read but can manipulate a
button-press. I tried it out on my 4-year old nephew, and he caught on
immediately.
With the advent of the pandemic, publication of my book was
put on hold. So I spent my time during lockdown illustrating the story with
scenes of the robots and their various mishaps. Now the book is available in 2
formats on
Amazon: a paperback coding and coloring book for the more creative
types who like to incorporate a little artistic flair in their STEM activities;
or an eBook – the cheaper alternative for those strictly interested in coding.
Incidentally, I have no affiliation with Learning Resources.
I just think Botley is cute and clever. I recently discovered that Learning
Resources came out with a Botley 2.0 – a second generation robot that still
uses a Remote Programmer for coding. He’s got a few more button-presses and his
eyes light up, but basically he operates in much the same way. If you have a
young child quarantined at home during this pandemic, Botley is a great way to
keep the hands-on principles of STEM alive.
