Robotics for Little Kids

A workshop led by Alissa Blumberg

When: Saturday, January 20, 2024 10:00 AM to noon Eastern Time (USA Where everywhere via Zoom

Robotics is a great way to introduce young children ages 5 - 8 to coding and computer science. It also helps to develop practical skills such as design thinking, creativity, and teamwork. In this session we will present an overview of robots and robotics kits for elementary school classrooms including Bee-Bot, the Finch Robot, and the LEGO SPIKE Essential Set. Resources will be provided to build scaffolded lessons that grow with your students as they move from basic directional commands to creating code that incorporates loops and conditionals.

There will be an opportunity for some hands-on guided play time with the Finch. If you don’t have a Finch, you can borrow one for free on a 60-day loan to use during and after the workshop. See How to Borrow a Finch below for info on how to get one.

About the workshop leader

Alissa Blumberg is a STEAM teacher in the Lower School at the Spence School in New York City. She is also has been a facilitator and host of the annual Logo Summer Institute for many years. She teaches programming and robotics to students in grades 2-4 using Scratch, Lynx, Finch, LEGO SPIKE Essential and LEGO SPIKE Prime. Some of her favorite projects include physical computing with MaKey Makey and micro:bit and converting student’s 2D images into 3D objects.

How to Borrow a Finch Robot

Birdbrain Technologies, the developer of the Finch Robot, is generously providing free 60-day loans of these bots to teachers. To get one, go to https://www.birdbraintechnologies.com/demo/ and fill out the form. Where it says "If you are borrowing a robot to participate in an event or class, please provide the name of the event/class:" say "Logo Foundation Robotics workshop January 20, 2024." Make your request promptly so you can receive your Finch in time for the workshop.