LEGO Boost
© 2017 LEGO Education North America
This construction/programming kit is designed to "boost" regular low tech LEGO blocks with motors and sensors. The idea is that if you already own LEGOs, you have a set of supplies. There are two kits, priced at $150 and $200. Once you've made your invention, you can program it with the app using the Scratch-like coding experience. The Interface is similar to Scratch Jr. Once your controller block is synced to your tablet, you can create a program and press "play" to send it to your invention via bluetooth. We watched a cat that could tell if it was touched or if is upside down, and a guitar that used color recognition to determine pitch. All the sounds come out of your tablet. Sadly the controller block is powered by 6 AAA batteries (LEGO opted against lithium ion batteries). The LEGO Boost Kit has six components: 1. A Move Hub (with a motor, battery port, tilt sensor and bluetooth). 2. A color and distance sensor (the eyes). 3. A motor. 4. A playmat with programming challenges. 5. An app for coding for iOS and Android tablets 6. Assorted LEGO bricks. There are three base models of the kit: a walking base (for making animals), a driving base (for making vehicles) and an entrance base (for making a castle, fort or space station). It is important to note that this kit is specifically designed to be "open" to other existing LEGO kits.
$160, iPad, Android
Teaches: creativity, programming, LEGO blocks