Lego Education is introducing a new robotics kit for children.
The company's Spike Prime robotics kit is designed to help middle school-aged kids, so in the sixth- to eighth grade range in the US, learn and better understand the foundational concepts of engineering and coding. While Lego already offers a robotics lineup via its Mindstorm kits, those aren't ideal for young kids or those totally lacking coding experience.
The new Spike Prime kit is the solution for those people, as it works to slowly build skills through nearly hour-long units. There's even a new Lego Education Spike app, which uses Scratch programming language in order to introduce middle schoolers to the problem solving-based world of coding. The app is available on Chrome, Windows 10, Mac, Android, and iOS.
You see, although some kids would be excited to find out they’re new owners of a robot-building kit, there could be a problem with maintaining that level of enthusiasm. It’s easy to imagine a kid getting stuck early on in a complicated build and walking away discouraged and hating their robotics experience. Lego thinks Spike Prime Units will solve this problem.
These are 45-minute lessons all about base-level skills and building confidence in kids as they learn. Basically, it serves to keep the learning process fun and not frustrating. Lego also designed some lesson plans to help teachers integrate its Spike Prime kits into classrooms.
The Spike Prime kit comes with over 500 Technic pieces, including the Smart Hub, a centerpiece with a rechargeable battery, a speaker, 5x5 light matrix, a 6-axis gyroscope, and Bluetooth capabilities. It will officially go on sale in August in "all markets".
It costs $329.95 and can be pre-ordered now in the US.