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5 Fun Activities To Help Your Girls Earn the Senior Programming Robots Badge
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Time to read 4 min
Never Struggle Planning Activities Again
Easy to use activity booklets for your troop meeting.Never Struggle Planning Activities Again
Easy to use activity booklets for your troop meeting.|
Time to read 4 min
Have your girls ever been interested in robot development? If your looking for ideas to learn how to create and design, build and program, and present and show off a robot with your girls, you have come to the right place. Using some of these activities below to learn coding and debugging.
Below are a few ideas to get you started.
We partnered with CodeSpeak Labs, which specializes in computer science education for kids, to bring you these resources.
Before jumping into some ideas, do you want to skip all the planning? If so, use the Programming Robots Activity Booklet to learning about Artificial Intelligence, debugging JavaScript, and racing to solve robot vocabulary based on clues. With step-by-step activities, you can’t ask for an easier way to run your meeting. Learn more about this activity booklet and get yours today!
Be sure to also checkout these other activities your girls will love:
Python is a popular general purpose programming language that’s great for young developers to learn! On the w3schools website, you can do a Python tutorial here.
The girls can review and edit examples of how Python works; it’s a bit like using an interactive textbook. W3schools is also generally a good site for the girls to get practice using; in addition to Python, it has a reference guide for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and more.
After they do the exercises, they can do work on the 25 question quiz in teams to test their knowledge and add a fun competition.
After they do their basic overview of Python, they can level up by using a real world IDE (a website where programmers can write and edit code). We recommend the free website repl.it.
After setting up an account, the girls can save all of their creative projects. To start, they can code a fun madlib. They should click to make a new repl and choose “Python.”
The code uses a series of variables: placeholders for information that can change. The program will ask the user for input, like a plural noun, which it will then insert into a story.
Here’s the example code:
The girls can start by using this code exactly, or they can jump in and change the input prompts and the story (starts line 12.)
Programming with Artificial Intelligence enables computers to accomplish complex, even creative, tasks. The girls can watch this video from the Wall Street Journal that shows how programmers are experimenting with AI to create music.
After watching the video, the girls can discuss:
Using a Google Vision Kit AIY the girls can build their own smart camera. They will likely run into some bugs, so we only recommend this kit for girls who are highly motivated to do this type of project so they don’t quit when it gets frustrating.
The girls can learn and experiment with image recognition through this robotics kit; the camera will detect faces and emotions, like happiness and sadness. It’s also programmed to recognize 1,000 common objects.
The kit includes a Raspberry Pi Zero WH, Pi Camera V2, Micro SD Card, Micro USB Cable, and Push Button.
If you don’t want to buy equipment, our Programming Robots Activity Booklet has everything you need.
Well of course give them the badge to display proudly on their vest, they earned it! You could also do a fun patch. Here is a real cute one:
Get Your Robotics Fun Patch Now
Additionally If you are like many leaders we want to award our girls when they complete something even beyond just the patch. One great way to show achievement is with a certificate. Don’t worry you don’t have to make them, I found a resource that has done all the work for you and all you have to do is print them and customize the certificates with each girl’s name, badge or award earned, date, and troop leader. Editable certificates perfect for awarding girls after earning a badge.
If you have a multi-level troop you may want to use one of the variations to this program that is geared toward the age of your girls.
K – 1st grade activities:
2nd – 3rd grade activities:
4th – 5th grade activities:
6th – 8th grade activities:
11th – 12th grade activities
