Learning Resources Botley Coding Robot Activity Set Review: We have long been lovers of Learning Resources in the Mudpie Fridays house. So I was super excited when they asked us to review their new Botley Coding Robot Activity Set. Having introduced Monkey to coding with their Code & Go Robot Mouse I knew he would love it. Both robots help children in their first steps towards towards understanding coding and therefore computer science. It really helps his logic skills as well. Monkey is already learning sequencing at school so I knew this would help him on the educational front, as well as being a lot of fun.
In the box you get:
- Botley The Coding Robot
- Easy-to-use Remote Programmer
- Detachable Robot Arms
- 40 Coding Cards
- Six boards
- A sheet of stickers for customisation
- A variety of accessories to create obstacles and activities for Botley – eight sticks, 12 cubes, two cones, two flags, two balls and a goal
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths the idea behind it is that children are not taught the subjects independently but together. Botley incorporates all of these disciplines.
The basic idea is that you set up a series of mazes or challenges. Using the coloured arrow buttons on the remote programmer Monkey navigates it around the obstacles. The guide has a series of tasks to ease you into the process and to make sure you pick up all of the different things that Botley can do. Botely has two different modes CODE and LINE. When you put Botely in line mode he will follow the black lines on the back of the boards. You can place them together in which ever order you like. Monkey was especially fascinated by this and I think his face says it all.
After we moved on to trying to navigate across the board cards. Its possible to add a green front to Botley which will then allow you to attach arms so that he can carry balls. In this activity he used the coding cards for. I was super impressed by how quickly he managed to understand when to use the left and right hand cards to get Botley to go where he wanted him to.
Botley is aimed at children aged 5-9 years old, Monkey almost 6, was able to read elements on the guide on his own. It was helped by the pictures too. There are a couple of other buttons on the remote which are object detection and repeat. The object detection is really clever as when you include this its possible for Botley to move around something you place in his way. The rubbish bin will delete the previous programme – which we may have forgotten a couple of times!
Things we love:
- The concept! I like the way it helps Monkey approach tasks logically and start to understand sequencing and helping to develop critical thinking skills. The fact that there is not a tablet or smartphone in sight is also a big plus in my book
- Its a really fun toy, Monkey didn’t realise he was learning while playing and picked it up very quickly. The lights on top of Botley’s head correspond to the coloured arrows so this can also help with understanding
- The coding cards are invaluable if you are lacking a little imagination and build up slowly to some of the really complex tasks such as dodging obstacles and playing balls in hoops.
- The educational benefits of Botley are immense – it helps him develop critical thinking and problem solving.
- Good quality, bright colours and strong plastics exactly what I have come to expect from Learning Resources.
Things you need to know: Botley requires 5 x AAA batteries which are not included, 2 for the remote programmer and 3 for Botley himself.
There really wasn’t anything we didn’t like about Botley and feel that he is worth the price tag of £79. You can buy your own direct from the learning resources website.
We have had lots of fun with him already and can see Botley becoming a firm favourite in our house. The lovely people at Learning Resources have offered my readers the chance to win one for themselves. To enter please use the Gleam application below and please note the T&Cs.
Learning Resources Botley Coding Activity Set RRP £79
- Competition is open to residents of the UK aged 18 and over
- There is no cash alternative offered
- One winner will be drawn at random and will receive their own Botley Coding Robot Activity Set
- The giveaway will close on the 12th July at midnight, the winner will be notified through Twitter
- The Winners will be asked to provide a full postal address
I have some other giveaways running at the moment so please check them out in the Blog Giveaways Page above.
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We were given a Botley The Coding Robot for the purpose of this review as every all words and opinions are my own.
81 Responses
Coding is incredibly important for our grandchildren.
Making learning FUN – always a winner here
a brill giveaway learning on a fun basis
Botley looks brilliant, would love to win this.
What a great fun way for kids to learn about coding
I love the Learning Resources range! My son is only 4, but has wanted to be a Scientist for over a year now. I got him their test tube set for Christmas last year and he plays with it almost every day. They are so well made too! Fingers crossed for this lovely prize 🙂
My boys would love this prize!
A great, educational prize. Thank you!
my little lady loves coding so this would be a fab prize, fingers crossed
Fantastic – an educational toy moving with the times, I’ve been looking for something like this for my son!
My son would love this, he always love learning new things and this looks fantastic to develop a new skill.
excellent! love sun and learning at the same time!
^^^^ should be fun not sun!
Extremely appealing and educational. A fab giveaway. Thank you.
what an innovative toy! so multi-educational and fun
My kids would love using this
Would love to win this for my daughter
Thanks for another great giveaway …..this would be fantastic to give my nephew as he loves this sort of thing ?
looks great my daughter would love this
I work in STEM sector and females are massively under represented. I have two daughters and I am always looking for STRM activities to encourage them.
My son would love this.
have fun while learning
My kids are just getting into coding via introductory apps on my ipad but a toy like this would be much better I think!
This look so fun, my girls would love it 🙂
So I” like one of these for my little grandson . Thanks for the chance to win one
great product, the kids would love it!
Count me in for my boys
Great prize, my Godson would love this educational toy.
this looks like great fun x
I wish I had things like this when I was a child 🙂
This looks a fantastic way to discover coding, my grandson would love it and so would his daddy
looks fun and educational
Would be great for my little boy to help with coding 🙂
my grandson would be in his element if l were lucky enough to win this
This looks brilliant. I am all for making learning fun. x
Love this for the educational and learning aspect. Thankyou for the competition x
Nice to see something both fun and educational
This is so cool! I love anything that manages to combine learning and fun. 🙂
The boys would while away hours enjoying this 7& no doubt arguing about who was right.
my grandchildren would love this it looks so interesting
This looks like great fun.
Thanks. My daughter would love this.
Learning & fun – Great!!
This would be ideal for my youngest
My nephew would love this.
A brilliant prize! I learned to code as big trak and writing code for computers were all part of my childhood. Its great to see children learning these skills again as it is so important.
Great prize my boys would love it
My son would love this! Coding AND robots -what more is there for a 5 year old… (apart from dinosaurs, dinosaurs and ice cream!)
This would be a great Christmas gift for my nefew
AA great start to coding that is fun too!
Learning in a fun way is always a winner and gets results
Looks like a fun yet educational toy
what a really brilliant toy for getting them interested in coding and robotics. I’d love Piper to try something like this because she has an inquiring mind and would really enjoy it
This would keep my nephew happily occupied for hours.
This looks amazing. I know my son would enjoy this.
this looks perfect for my daughter
What a fabulous prize, perfect to put away for Christmas x
My eldest would have absolutely loved this when he was younger, but there was nothing like it. I’m sure my niece would have lots of fun and it’s educational as well!
This set would be great for my tech savvy nephew.
This looks like a great and fun way to learn basic coding
Love this prize, thanks for giveaway x
This looks great fun
Fantastic!
This is a super set and I know that my grandson would love it.
id love this for my nephew
wow looks like fun
This looks good, would love it for my son
looks like hours of fun to be had
This looks FANTASTIC. i’m sure my daughters would love it and learn so much along the way!
What an excellent idea. It looks such fun.
would love this formy 4 grandsons
What an amazing prize. Fantastic gadget.
Fab prize, my boys would love this robot. Looks and and educational!
I’m a teacher and would love this!
This looks so interesting! Never mind my son, I’d love a go!
These look great, I love STEM toys for my son
My daughter would absolutely love this, it’d be great for her upcoming birthday x
my nephew Dara would love this
Love for my daughter Sheriah 5 she would love this
Great prize and very educational
That looks fab, and I agree that the absence of a screen is a nice change, much as I’m a fan of them in general.