9 Robotics Brands To Check Out In 2023

We’ve put together a list of nine educational robotics brands that you should check out in 2023! All of these educational robotics brands can be used in an afterschool program or at-home setting, and several of them are aligned to educational standards and more appropriate for the classroom. And lucky for you - all of these amazing brands can be found here at STEMfinity, your one-stop-shop for hands-on STEM resources!

If you are interested in learning more about any of these robotics brands or have questions about how these resources will fit in your learning environment, please contact us for a STEM consultation and let our in-house experts help you find the right fit for your budget and students. Please note that prices and availability of the products listed below can’t be guaranteed in the future and are subject to change.

 

BirdBrain Technologies

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: Common Core, NGSS, CSTA, ISTE
  • About: BirdBrain Technologies has two robotic kit product lines, the Finch and the Hummingbird, that are built around the concept of “minutes to pick up, hours to master”. This approach enables students with even zero background knowledge to start building and programming their own robot right out of the box, but still allow them to continue learning engineering and advanced programming including Python and Java for years down the road. BirdBrain Technologies also provides free activities and standards-aligned curriculum that helps educators seamlessly integrate robotics into their existing lesson plans or programs.

 

LEGO Education

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: Common Core, NGSS, ISTE
  • About: LEGO® Education’s SPIKE™ robotic kit product line begins with an “Essential Set” meant for students in grades K-5, which then progresses to the “Prime Set” meant for middle school students in grades 6-8. The SPIKE™ Essential and Prime Sets were designed to provide young learners with a guided journey that takes them from building basic robots and programming them with a simple drag-and-drop visual environment, to engineering complex robotics and using advanced languages like Scratch. LEGO® Education has included standards-aligned STEAM curriculum that focuses on language arts, engineering, math, and computer science and offers interactive online support materials for educators that make it easy to integrate this kit series into any learning environment. If you are looking to introduce your kids to the world of robotics competitions, LEGO® Education offers an exciting expansion set for the SPIKE™ Prime that includes over 10 hours of curriculum and over 600 building pieces. The SPIKE™ Prime Expansion Set also includes comprehensive online lesson plans and educator support to those new to robotics competitions.

 

Makeblock

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: STEAM, Computer Science
  • About: Founded in 2013, Makeblock is one of the leading STEAM education resource providers and offers award-winning learning tools to help kids play while they learn robotics and coding. Makeblock robotics will teach students basic programming skills using their visual drag-and-drop mBlock program and transition them to the advanced text-based programming language Arduino. Makeblock currently has over 200,000 partner schools aross the planet and their mBlock free coding software is trusted by 20 million educators and learners. The mBot robotics kit series provides students with the parts to assemble their robot in about 30 minutes, and is primarily intended to focus on programming. If you are looking for more building and engineering challenges, we recommend checking out the Ultimate 10-in-1 Robot Kit instead of an mBot.

 

Modular Robotics / Cubelets

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: Common Core, NGSS, ISTE, CSK12
  • About: Cubelets are one of the most unique early learning robotics kits available because of their unique modular design that allows different magnetic blocks to be snapped together to create different robotic behaviors. Each Cubelet has a special function, and as you build your robot you are literally performing hands-on coding with the different ways that you can assemble your build. Every combination is a new creation and what you connect, and how you connect them changes the behavior of your robot constructions. While Cubelets can be used to provide an introduction to robotics in early learning environments, Makeblock’s Blockly coding app extends Cubelets to all grade levels by providing basic drag-and-drop visual programming as well as advanced C programming to students that want to build complex behaviours.

 

OzoBot

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: Common Core, NGSS, CSTA
  • About: Ozobot creates desk-friendly robots aimed at students with no coding experience and can be used in any learning environment. Ozobot Evo Educator Entry Kits are great if you want to skip the building and get straight to programming a pre-built robot. The Evo Educator Entry Kit can be coded online using Ozobot Blockly or screen-free with Color Codes. Ozobot also offers access to over 500 free standards-aligned lessons to help make implementing robotics a breeze in any learning environment, even for those with no background in robotics. The OzoBot Evo Educator Entry Kit contains a pre-built pocket-sized robot, multiple sensors, zip case for storage, and more.

 

PCS Edventures

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: Common Core, NGSS, ISTE
  • About: Founded over three decades ago by a former school teacher, PCS Edventures has created fantastic hands-on STEAM resources for students of all ages and learning environments. PCS Edventures’ Discover Robotics Kit series are intended for late elementary and middle school students. The Discover Robotics Kit series offers two different flavors: a physics version and a programming version. The Discover Robotics & Physics version will have students constructing models while learning about related topics like force, energy, velocity, acceleration, and more. The Discover Robotics & Programming version will have students building their own robot and programming it to life using the Cortex software, a visual drag-and-drop interface. Both Discover Robotics Kits use advanced fischertechnik plastic building pieces that enable students to have more flexibility when designing their robots.

 

RoboLink

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: Common Core, NGSS, CSTA
  • About: With humble beginnings starting as a small afterschool program in 2012, RoboLink now offers hands-on robotics kits to educators and classrooms all around the world. RoboLink’s robotics kits are aimed at all early elementary learning environments, and are an excellent tool that enables young students to explore coding, engineering, and innovation through robotics. What makes RoboLink’s Buildy Bots kit unique is that it allows PreK+ students to code their constructions using a physical coding board instead of a computer or device. Buildy Bots are designed specifically for young children to safely build robots and have smooth edges and oversized parts meant to help develop fine motor skills. RoboLink also offers a more advanced robotics kit called the Rokit Smart that is designed for students in grades 3+. The Rokit Smart is an 11-in-1 programmable robot kit that is perfect for building mechanical skills while learning about circuitry, engineering, and coding. RoboLink’s Rokit Smart includes a full set of tools for building real robots including a metal frame set, motors, circuit board, screwdriver, nuts and bolts, and more.

 

UBTECH

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: NGSS
  • About: UBTECH offers a UKIT robotics product line that allows students to progressively build upon the skills that they learn with each kit. The UKIT Beginner was designed to provide a springboard to expose students to robotics, and then seamlessly progress them to the UKIT Intermediate where they will deepen their knowledge with more complex builds with interactive sensors, and finally graduating to the UKIT Adanced where students will take an in-depth look at the mechanics, electronics, and programming behind real world robotics. The UKIT series will take students from programming with a basic block-based code software meant for beginners, and gradually progress them to learn more advanced text-based code in C/C++ through Arduino IDE. If you are looking to serve more than a single student, UBTECH also offers class pack bundles for each UKIT to help save you money.

 

Wonder Workshop

  • Featured Robotics Kits:
  • Educational Standards: Common Core, CSTA, ISTE
  • About: Wonder Workshop’s Dash Robot kit is a great way for young learners in the classroom to skip the building and get straight to programming a pre-constructed robot. Using either of Wonder Workshop’s free apps, Blockly or Wonder, young students can learn coding concepts like sequencing, loops, operations, and more to program Dash to move, dance, sing, respond to voices, and even tell a story! The Wonder Workshop Dash Robot Kit also has a handful of standards-aligned curriculum pack expansions and exciting accessory packs like a ball launcher and sketch kit.
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