My daughter is very interested in robotics and I have a question

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux

Ah yes that's right. I'm so used to having the 3 motors to work with. What I meant to say is that the Lego Mindstorms RCX supports three motors, but you only get two in the starter kit. Still this is good because it make things more simple and that's not bad when starting with the mindstorms kit.

Only supports three motors--yes, in theory. The facts: 1) that third port could be connected to a light; 2) you can hook up more than one motor to a port, just be prepared to have both run the same.

I'll have to wait for a third motor to be included in the normal Mindstorms kit. Ouch.

Also, there are numerous books about stuff to do with Mindstorms; I have one on robotic sumo wrestling....

[1086Programmer]

When I was her age, I played around with the computer a lot. I took my dad's tools and played around in the shed, we had tons of small ongoing projects. We never had the money to get those sorts of things, so we made do with wood, and wheels.

The main thing is to make sure she STAYs interested in Robotics as she ages.

[Dale]

I've been leading robotics at our school, Catlin Gabel, for the last six years. What I've found is there's a ideal time to introduce LEGO robotics and FLL, especially for girls 8-12.

Introduce it too early and the kids aren't developmentally ready. You end up doing a lot of the work and the kids don't have all that much fun. They will then think they've "been there and done that" and may not come back to it when they are ready. Introduce it too late, and the social stuff has already set in and engineering isn't cool anymore.

Every child is different. In my opinion, the ideal time for LEGO robotics for girls is around 5th grade. Some fourth graders might be fine but younger than that you run the risk of peaking too soon. Girls in the 4th-5th grade can do a lot of programming themselves and can reason out the mechanical stuff. By all means get involved with FIRST Lego League...it's a great program. Keep the teams small, though, with younger kids.

It's not too soon for your daughter to get into building things with Lego's, now. Taking things apart is also a nice idea.

Dale Yocum
www.catlin.edu/robotics

[LSevcik]

Originally Posted by Cepak

Thanks everyone. You've given me even more to think about.

What part of Texas do you live in? I am the FIRST Regional Director for Texas and there are several robotics programs in Texas. Let me know where you are at and I'll see what is in your area.

[Cepak]

Originally Posted by LSevcik

What part of Texas do you live in? I am the FIRST Regional Director for Texas and there are several robotics programs in Texas. Let me know where you are at and I'll see what is in your area.

I live in Fort Worth Texas, Dallas is the small suburb to our east. Any information you have would be great. You can also contact me by email at tom.a.cepak@lmco.com.

Thanks,

Tom

[Carolyn Duncan]

I grew up on Legos. I started with Duplos when I was about 3 and moved up to other lego kits when I was about 5. Even though my collection of kits grew I refused to allow my mother to get rid of my Duplos. I am extremely cranky about my kits getting mixed together to this day. If you buy her the Midstorms kit it is expandable as previously mentioned. If she is really intersted in this type of activity she will tell you what she wants or needs. Out growing the kit probly won't happen once she realizes the possiblilities are endless. I mean sure other things might catch her eye and she will try them out. But I figured out when I was very young that no matter what you do the limits are virtually endless. Just don't push her too hard and she will be fine. I was on my own with legos- everyone in my family hates them so that became my way of creating something no one else could understand.

[Wetzel]

I started with generic legos and just built towns or other 'spacecraft' or things out of them. I graduated into the train set we got for Christmas one year when I was about 9. The mindstorm kit didn't come out until I was in high school, and I never really got into it. Maybe it was my brother hogging the RCX, but more likely was competing social interests my freshman year of high school.

I know I had plenty of fun with the tons of legos I had, without the RCX. I made things move, articulated vehicles, things that were designed to separate into a smaller exploratory vehicle...without the RCX.

Cheers
Wetzel

[Pat Chen]

If your daughter is ready to handle building as well as programming....Mindstorm will be a good start.....work on simple projects....but if you think she may get frustrated...then Knex or Capsela (if they still sell it) also ...Discovery Toys had a kit....like Lego's......but the gears were larger in size - I can't remember what it was called...but she can make ferris wheels, etc.....it is just a start to maintain as well as nurturing her interests.

[Vin211]

At the age of 7 years is the perfect time to have a young person turned onto engineering and science. This country of course does not have enough technologists or scientists and its really hurting us! Anywho, the Lego Mindstorm Kit would be a perfect start for her. Yes it takes time to program and of course understand the settings and such but she will get use to it. It is something that she will grow into.

I would predict that after she has pretty much mastered the programming of the Lego Mindstorms, she can easily be a valuable asset to a FIRST Lego League Team.

There is also other robotics projects out there that are geared more torwards the programming spectrum. The Trinity Fire Fighting Competition is a key example. The masters of programming and robotics compete on a higher level.

Of course, after FIRST Lego League, she can move to the High School Level. A lot of teams invite younger members to join. The experience from that may influence them to stay or pursue other engineering options

I hope this information is helpful. If you need more information on Lego Mindstorms, don't be shy to ask. I was a coach with FLL, volunteer, and now a Judge at one of the State Competitions!

Originally Posted by Cepak

My 7 year old daughter really wants to build robots. She is always bugging me about building one. Last year I bought her an R2D2, and, although she likes playing with it, it doesn't seem enough for her. She isn't shy with computers and loves to play video games. I'm contemplating buying her the Lego Mindstorm 2.0 system and I'm wondering, would this system be too advanced for a 7 year old? I'm a software engineer so I can help her with it, but will someone this age be able to do things with it on their own? I'd love to buy it for her, but the last thing I want is something that costs $200 to just occupy closet space. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[mechanicalbrain]

wow...... this thread was started ages ago...... whos keeping it alive? *looks around* is it YOU???