Lego Mindstorms: Attack of the Robots

You see this?
It's a robot.  A fully-functional, sensor Lego Mindstorms robot.  And who designed, built, and programmed this beast to do his bidding?  Miro!  At the Tech4Kids Robotics Camp.

So this is me biting my tongue and kicking myself in the shin for saying I wouldn't put Miro in such a mega high-tech program.  Pester power beat old school.  And thank goodness for that because Miro had the time of his evil genius life!

Open to kids 8-14 years old, you start off as a Mechanic, then an Engineer, work your way up to Advanced level, and then Athlete Tech Guy Superhero God!  It's perfect for summer camp but the program runs all year.

All Miro needed was creativity, a damn load of patience during construction, and MY laptop.  The Tech4Kids guru taught the class the basic commands, but the kids have to do the computer-to-robot programming on their own.  What followed was a series of daily heart-thumping, nerve-racking competitions.

Just to mention a few, there's the Maze Maneuver Match.

The Bumper and Slasher Battle.

The Windmill War.

The Crane Quest.

The Cable Car Competition.

The camp doesn't have that gigantic, graduate-and-celebrate-my-ass-off culminating event in the end unlike most summer programs.  But screw that!  Tech4Kids and Lego Mindstorms give kids daily fulfillment!

Now, allow me to chew my previous Tech4Kids blog to shreds.  Tech4Kids kicks ass!  It's the real, bad ass, hardcore robotics deal.  Perfect for future mad scientists like mine.