LEGO BOOST Activity Book Review
The LEGO BOOST Activity Book – a beginner’s guide to robotics – by Daniele Benedettelli, is ‘the must-have’ companion book for anyone who has (or is thinking of getting) the hugely popular LEGO BOOST Creative Toolbox 17101 Building and Coding Kit.
In spite of its popularity, the award-winning LEGO 17101 Set has one major drawback… IT SHIPS WITHOUT ANY WRITTEN MATERIAL. No instructions, no user guide, no manual – NOTHING! Instead, users are required to follow the links provided to download relevant information from the internet (all free of charge).
Now, in one sense, that’s pretty cool, right? But, it can also be a bit annoying!
Having to constantly ‘fire up’ your computer, tablet or smartphone is an unnecessary distraction when you’re trying to learn a new subject. There really is no substitute for a physical book, that you can personalize by turning pages, highlighting important text or adding your own notes.
This Activity Book is the FULL-COLOR ILLUSTRATED GUIDE that the LEGO BOOST COMMUNITY has been waiting for. It takes the novice programmer (coder) from basic principles to an intermediate level in no time at all. The hands-on step-by-step approach has proven to be a winning formula with 7-12-year-olds.
With LEGO Boost, they’ll have so much fun BUILDING, CODING, and PLAYING they won’t even realize that they are LEARNING.
WHO IS THE LEGO BOOST ACTIVITY BOOK FOR?
This book serves as a gentle introduction to the fascinating world of PROGRAMMING (CODING) and ROBOTICS. It is aimed at 7-12-year-olds, so it uses simple language with lots of colorful photographs, diagrams, and illustrations to captivate the imagination.
Every new concept introduced is accompanied by a practical exercise with step-by-step instructions to engage the reader and consolidate the theory.
WHAT’S INSIDE THE ACTIVITY BOOK?
Each of the 272 pages is packed with useful information. The 17 chapters are grouped into 4 main parts as shown in the following image:
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
You’ll start by learning the basic principles of Lego boost programming with the help of an awesome little roving robot called MARIO.
First, you’ll BUILD Mario using parts from the LEGO BOOST Creative Toolbox Kit.
You will definitely need this kit if you want to make full use of the book by completing the practical exercises (it is, after all, an ACTIVITY book).
Related Article: I’ve written a complete review of the LEGO BOOST Creative Toolbox, where I outline all of the pros and cons of this amazing piece of kit.
Next, you’ll PROGRAM (or CODE) Mario to perform some basic tasks using the free LEGO BOOST app. This will introduce you to the fundamentals of the BOOST programming environment.
Now, if this sounds a bit technical? Don’t worry! It simply means that you need to understand how to construct a program by simply moving blocks of code into position in a visual (drag and drop) manner. Everything is explained in the book!
Then, (the fun part), you get to PLAY with Mario. See how cleverly Mario can move, repeat actions and react to colors and sounds.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
At this stage, you’re doing great! You’ve acquired some basic programming skills and you’ve mastered the underlying principles. So, it’s now time to get a little more adventurous.
In this section, you’ll learn how to program Mario the Robot to do slightly more advanced things like following lines on the ground, scanning the environment to decide where to go, and even playing darts.
Pretty cool huh?
UP NEXT – BRICKPECKER
Now you should be ready to BUILD and CODE a brick-sorting robotic bird called BrickPecker. It will identify LEGO bricks by color and sort them into different containers.
AND FINALLY – CYBOT
For your final task, you will build a humanoid walking robot called CYBOT. You will program it to explore its surroundings, move its head and arms, talk, and react to vocal commands.
HOW CAN I TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
No problem! As you advance through the Lego boost book, you will come across the so-called Brain BOOSTer sections. These are optional lessons that let you dig into the math and engineering behind your builds.
But, these sections are not compulsory. They can be skipped if preferred, it’s entirely up to you.
Additional experiments allow you to test your new-found knowledge and encourages you to do more with your robots.
MOVING ON?
That’s about it for the Lego boost book!
Now, you need to get your hands on the LOGO BOOST Creative Toolbox 17101 and set about BUILDING and CODING the FIVE FEATURED ROBOTS.
After that, you will need to grab a copy of Yoshihito Isogawa’s book, The LEGO BOOST Idea Book – 95 Simple Robots and Clever Contraptions.
Related Article: I’ve written a complete review of the LEGO BOOST Idea Book here.
VERDICT
With colorful illustrations, detailed explanations, and lots of useful tips and tricks, The LEGO BOOST Activity Book will take you from a rooky builder to robotics whizz in no time!
You can read my full review of the LEGO BOOST Creative Toolbox 17101 Building and Coding Kit right here.
You can also read my full review of the LEGO BOOST Idea Book right here.
And, you can read my full review of the LEGO BOOST Expert Book right here.
Read my Guide to the 3 Best Books on the Lego Boost right here.
Related: LEGO 75954 HARRY POTTER Hogwarts Great Hall Building Kit.
Related: LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Express 75955 Building Kit.
