summer camp · ages 8 and up
LEGO Python Coding Camp for Kids in Frisco, TX
This robotics camp gives ninjas STEM-focused, hands-on activities that combine design engineering and computer science.
- LEGO SPIKE Prime
- Python
In the camp
What they do
The projects they work through in the camp, one at a time.
Programs that light up and beep
The first Python they write, running on a hub they can hold. Images on the light matrix, beeps at pitches they choose.
A robot hand on a loop
Opens and closes on a button press, then wrapped in a loop so it answers every time.
Motors under real control
Run for a set time at a set speed, or driven to an exact position - the difference between roughly and precisely.
A smart bike with user-defined functions
Behavior they named themselves, then called whenever the bike needs it.
A robot built and coded in pairs
One driving, one navigating, swapping over - which is also how the bugs get found.
The concepts behind it
What they are actually learning
The camp is the reason they turn up. These are the ideas they use to do it, shown the way they meet them, and they are the same ideas behind any programming language they pick up later.
Python syntax
hub.light_matrix.write("Hello")lowercase w in writeparameters inside quotation marksReal typed Python, where the rules are exact. Most of the first day's learning is what the computer will and will not accept.
Functions and parameters
def move_forward():run both motorsbeep(600, 1000)A block of code with a name, reusable as often as you like. Parameters are the values you hand it, so one function covers every pitch of beep.
Loops and indentation
while True:if button pressed:open the handPython uses indentation to decide what is inside what. Getting that wrong is the classic Python bug and it is taught as a rule, not discovered as a disaster.
Debugging
run itread the consolethe error names the lineFinding and fixing mistakes, with the console as the tool. Bugs are the normal middle of programming rather than a sign of having gone wrong.
After camp
Loved our camp? Keep building all year.
Robotics is the school-year robotics program, where a ninja works through four kits across the year. The first session is free, so they can try it before you decide.
Before you ask
Common questions
Why Python rather than blocks?
Because this camp is for a ninja ready to type. Python is the language they are most likely to meet again at school and after it.
Does my child need to have coded before?
It helps a great deal. The week assumes they are comfortable with the idea of a program and spends its time on the language and the hardware.
What hardware do they use?
LEGO Education SPIKE - hubs, motors and sensors. All provided and all stays here.
Is it the same as LEGO Robotics Engineering?
Same kit, different focus. Robotics Engineering is about building machines; this one is about writing the Python that drives them.
Ages 8+
Ages 8+
Ages 6+