How did we get to the robotics lab in San Jose, Costa Rica?

We drove in a taxi.  It was CRAZY!  Taxi drivers in Costa Rica are crazy!  We made it safe though.

Who owns the robotic lab?

Our cousin Bently does!

What was your favorite part of the lab?

The computer games they made. We played Pac man and car games. It had 100’s of games inside it.  A racing car game was my favorite.

What can you make in a robotics lab?

Robots!

What did you make them with?

A laser printer, and a 3D printer.  THAT’S WHAT THEY USED!! (Say it with flare like I did!)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZpPLP7m9qdM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Cool things you can do with a circuit playground

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PEI4VK5QaLM" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6OXQXhU87Gw" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

A last little note from Kayla

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/1zR9oceWLIvtNOyW3F" width="480" height="480" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/hallmarkecards-1zR9oceWLIvtNOyW3F">via GIPHY</a></p>

Note to parents:  We all want to take our homeschooling roll seriously.  For me, I want to give my precious daughter any chance she can have in this big changing world we live in.  It became apparent early on that this road we were on as both parent and student had to include computers and robotics.  They are very important in our kid’s education.

As I researched I discovered that over a million jobs exist today in the robotics industry. Everything from ATM machines to cars are now running with computers controlling them, even toothbrushes can be programmed!  Factory workers are being replaced by robots.  It is the wave of this new era we are in.  If we want to give our kids a good running start at career paths, they will need to work with computers and robotics at some level in the next coming generation.  Education just doesn’t look the same as it did even 20 years ago.

These links are a collaboration of information I have been gleaning on my journey to help my daughter get a running head start in what could be a major field of study when she graduates.

Having been to CRCCibernetica I also got to ask some first-hand questions on what path would be the most helpful for learning.  The Circuit Playground was highly recommended to me over and above any of the other pre-packaged robots and kits out there because it allows for the highest level of creativity and puts kids in the driver seat in their creations with Robotics.

Another program offered for all those registered with Heritage On line Christian School is Tynker.    Hope this helps!

Naomi

 

 

Tinkercad

Don’t forget about Tinkercad!

Tinkercad is a program to build plans for lego, Minecraft, or even lego. Whatever your mind can create you can too!  Bring your plans to a 3D printer and they can be created.

Learn Arduino!

Arduino is an open-source electornis platform based on easy to use hardware and software.  It’s intended for anyone making interactive projects.   Children as young as 7 can learn to program.

Here are some helpful links to get you started:

Link to information on Arduino

Download the IED software

 

 

CRCibernetica

CRCcibernetica 

An online store with all your robotic parts, computer brains, which is all in one place.  These kits lead to the explosion of possibilities.

We started with the Circuit Playground which was recommended to us by my cousin.

See some Spanish kids in action using a circuit playground.

 

Scratch Jr.

Scratch Jr is a program online and an app that is affordable as in free that teaches the basics of block programming to kids.  Make stories, and adventures all in this program.