Some of the greatest minds started young. That’s the entire essence of excellence and success wrapped in a very few words. To be successful, you have to start right from an early age and work your way through your passion. That’s exactly why we have been emphasizing on the importance of introducing concepts on coding, chess and robotics to your kids at their prime ages.
Robotics, especially, is a very interesting realm that opens up avenues of limitless potentials in your kids’ mind. It brings out the creative genius in your kid and allows him or her to explore the possibilities of technology and wild visions to make the unbelievable possible. There are kids who have designed robots to save beehives and there are those who have designed, built and sent 3D-printed satellites into space. There is no dearth for possibilities and all your kids have to do is start at the right time.
So if you intend to introduce robotics and its allied concepts to your kids, here are ways to do it.
Coding
Robotics involves software as much as it involves hardware. Apart from your kids knowing the technicalities of building a robot, they should also know how to execute their ideas because right now, focus is more on the functionalities of robots more than their aesthetics. So if you want to make them understand robotics, they should simultaneously start with coding as well. For coding resources, you can find a resourceful article here.
Robotics Kits
One of the best things about today’s technology is that there are tons of DIY or Do It Yourself kits out there. These kits come for diverse age groups and allow them to make the best use of their mind and capabilities. The highly popular Lego offers robotics kits that offers kids an environment to design, build and execute their ideas with ease. These kits are fully functional and orient kids to a lot of concepts like visualization, specs, workflows, processes, design, software, circuits and more to get where they intend to reach.
Afterschool Programs
Sometimes, you just can’t get the right exposure for your kid when it comes to robotics. This could be because of lack of availability of required devices, your experience and expertise in robotics or just lack of time. That’s why dedicated afterschool programs are best to introduce robotics concepts to your kids. They have in-house robotics experts, who have a curriculum or program designed to teach robotics in the most systematic ways possible.
Your kid will start from the fundamentals and take the right gradual steps in learning about the concepts and technology. This approach will reflect in your kids’ thought processes and lifestyle and you would see a mental transformation in them. Another reason is they aren’t alone in such programs. They are surrounded by kids of their age groups, who are equally enthusiastic to learn and this healthy competitive environment will only work in your kids’ benefit.
YouTube Resources
For those of you looking to start immediately, there are tons of YouTube channels and videos that teach kids simple robots out of things around them and make them move. Channels like Super Kid make robotics more interesting by covering a wide variety of robots and teaching kids to build them in quick videos. Your kids would not just have a good time but have a productive one too.
Besides, robotics also helps your kid prepare for the future data-driven age, where most things would be automated or be based on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence algorithms. Right exposure now can help them gear up for the future and move forward to becoming innovators, scholars or even revolutionary scientists. Sheldon Cooper anyone?