Botley is a dynamic coding robot that introduces children to the very basic form of coding and programming. This coding robot is from Learning Resource, a company who believe in creating a quality and fun product for children! Botley The Coding Robot is suitable for aged five to nine years old. This well-built inspirational robot is much-loved in this household! It is easy to operate and fun to play with!
Watch the Botley Quick Start Guide here:
Inside this kit, it comes with a Botley robot, a remote programmer, 2 detachable robot arms, 40 coding cards, 6 boards, 12 cubes, 8 sticks, 2 cones, 2 flags, 2 balls, 1 orange goal, stickers and instructions. The double-sided coding cards are used to help children to plan and visualise Botley’s path by laying it out in their desired sequence before programming him.
It requires three AA batteries for the robot and two AA batteries for the remote programmer, which are not included in the kit. Once the batteries are in, the robot is ready to play straight out of the box. The only thing you need to do is to stick the stickers on the cubes, flags and orange goal.
The remote programmer is lightweight and small enough to hold by little hands. It comes with rubber grips on both sides, along with big and well-labelled buttons. Both of my children were able to work out the buttons without looking at the instructions. The only thing I don’t like about this remote programmer is that it does not come with an on/off button. So if I didn’t place it properly, any touch to those buttons might deplete the battery life.
Botley is a very well-made robot. He is cute, brightly coloured and chunky. He is able to move on uneven or flat surfaces very well thanks to his two big rubber wheels. He might look small in size (measured 13cm by 7cm by 8.5cm) but he has a great capacity of remembering 80 steps in one sequence! He is also able to detect objects and use an alternative programming sequence if detected.
There is a switch located at the bottom of the robot. You can choose between these two modes: LINE or CODE or simply turn off the robot. For the LINE mode, you can get Botley to use his special sensor to trace black lines by using the boards provided or simply draw one for him. He is a clever robot in that he is able to do a U-turn when the line ends! It is fun watching him follow the lines!
For the CODE mode, your child is able to learn how to do the basic form of coding by utilising step coding and logic. They are able to programme the code and watch Botley perform a variety of actions.
On the instructions, it comes with 10 different coding challenges and they are numbered in order of difficulty. They are designed to get your child familiar with coding Botley and understand what he can do! Both of my children enjoyed the challenges Mr C set them especially using the accessories to create obstacle courses for Botley. As both of them are very used to coding and programming at home and school, they are able to operate Botley with ease.
Ms C and Mr K both love Botley as he is a cute robot with character. This charming robot is fun to play with. They love to program and set their robot on a task! Botley is so small and portable that you can take him out with you. This robot makes a wonderful Christmas or birthday present with educational benefits, especially for younger children! This is available to buy from good toy retailers, online and Amazon. For more information about Botley, please visit Learning Resources.
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own. We have included Amazon affiliate link to the product. If you click on this and buy, we may earn a small commission.
