My little (8yrs old) saw a video on YouTube and is now pumped to get started on trying his hand at robot building. He’s obsessed with legos so he showed me the LEGO mindstorm sets. Seeing as the kits are $200-600 and I just bought him a sphero that’s a beautiful paperweight - I’m wondering if anyone has used them, own them, or would be willing to teach him some things (I’ll pay you) or could lead me down the hole that is my next $3k investment in legos.
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Jack had the original Mindstorms and they were a little clumsy to program. I hear they are much better.
I have used the original Mindstorms with the yellow RCX brick controller. It used an infrared connection for programming and will not work with modern computers as it used a serial port. I have not tried or heard whether it will work with a USB to serial adapter.
Programming was by dragging and dropping little logic blocks instead of writing code. It was similar to the Scratch programming language:
I also looked into the second generation NXT but have not done anything with it.
Mindstorms is now EV3, I do not know whether there was an EV1 or EV2. I do not have any idea what programming those is like.
You may be able to find a set for a good price on Ebay.
Edit: You may want to start by taking him to the DPRG Robot Night on Tuesdays.
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I used Mindstorms as a kid and we actually had a couple of projects using Mindstorms in my Intro to Engineering classes at Texas A&M. It is a great introductory tool, and programming is not entirely dissimilar from industrial Programmable Logic Controlllers, assuming the language hasn’t changed drastically in the last 11 years (it may have).
My kiddo is 8 - a high functioning 8yr old but still within that range of thinking - do you think it’s on par for that age group or do you think it’s older?
I bought him a sphero after a coding camp and it’s not been something he’s enjoyed after the fact.
He could likely complete some of the guided projects. He would probably have to complete a few of those before he could start thinking about doing his own thing. My experience was that it was too easy (I was probably 12) to follow the book, but it is a bit of a steep learning curve to design and program your own robots.
Has be built any of the more mechanically complex Technix kits?
I love LEGO mindstorms and have a kit of my own that I play with from time to time.
For your son I would do something more structured than just playing with the kits.
I would highly recommend doing FIRST LEGO League:
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/
A lot of schools have a team but if his school does not have one yet I would consider starting it. I used to mentor a few teams and it is a amazingly rewarding for both the mentors and students.
Knowing you and your little, I would steer away from Lego Mindstorm for now. I feel you are correct in thinking it will become a paper weight. The guided projects are easy enough to follow, but there is a pretty big leap between following the guided projects and building your own functional projects. It is really more of a Late Middle School to Early High School platform. You want him to have a group a friends or a school class that is teaching the use of the Mindstorm kits before he will get the value out of them.
I was introduced to Mindstorm in Middle School many years ago. The teacher at the time had no programming experience but, was tasked with teaching us about computers and technology. By the 4th guided project, she was out of her depths and the class switched from technology inspire projects to teaching typing. As I still hunt and peck when I type, I would say that she wasn’t that good at teaching that either.
So, unless you are going to learn the projects and guide you short stack through them, I would suggest punt this down the road till he has other friends doing this or a school class teaching this. Not saying he couldn’t learn it, just that your about to give him Legos and a 150 page manual on how to use them. How far do you think he will go with that?
Think of what you are doing as starting a fire from a spark. You have to have just the right amount of fuel and air to support turning a spark into a flame. Too much of either, or too little of either, will smother the spark. Patience is the most important thing. Along with dedication, which I think you have in abundance.
Russell Ward
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Get him started with blinky lights! My 10x10 used a controller from Chibatronics that was lots of fun. Think paper circuits with a storybook and LED stickers. The coding is the same logic blocks which is easy to get started with. Once he gets up to speed with that you can switch to things with motors/gears etc. like Mindstorms.
https://chibitronics.myshopify.com/collections/advanced-stickers/products/chibi-chip-starter-kit
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That is an awesome option!
My son was 11 when he got the NXT when it first came out; he followed the guided projects (with some help from Dad), and made quite a few of his own modifications, so he wound up with a robot that evolved… until he grew tired of it. I think 8 is a bit young, unless you want to spend endless hours with him on your lap building, programming, and testing. Which ain’t necessarily a bad thing.
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Nicole,
I grew up with LEGO as a kid in Germany in the early 1970’s (yes they had LEGO waaaaaaayy back then) but I have no idea what their “mindstorm” kits are.
I found this tho - no idea if they are out of date or would be of use to you:
https://www.slapsale.com/ss/#!/misc-lego-mindstorms-nxt-lot-156496
If you opted to buy/win them - I’d be happy to pick them up this Monday the 8th on my way home from San Antonio.
Hold your horses until he is 12 or so. Let him lead.
And yes, mine cut his teeth on the original Mindstorm and has programmed for Disney, Airbus with security clearance, and is now at an AI startup in San Francisco.
Baby steps, mama. Baby steps.
I bought the EV3 when my son was 6- he just liked building and making the wheels move. He’s 8, and still doesn’t really want to program, and much prefers beyblades >.<
I used to co-coach a few teams in First Lego League; it was the concepts and missions that make EV3 Mindstorms fun I think.
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