FEZ Crazy Lab Workshop

Last weekend, our Dashbot workshop took place for the second time at the FEZ, a popular event for kids and parents alike. Dashbot? - They’re those cute little blue robots that you can do all sorts of crazy things with. As part of the crazy lab at the FEZ, interested children were able to let off steam. The highlight is that the robots can be programmed in a beginner-friendly way. This means that all actions can also be carried out automatically. We were on site with mentors to answer any questions. This encouraged the children’s experimental curiosity.

As a small incentive to try things out, a small collection of tasks was set up to exploit the functions of the dashbot and inspire the creativity of the participants. For each completed task, the children were allowed to choose colorful stickers and stick them on their workshop plan. In the end, they were left with a wonderfully colorful memory.
 

How did the whole thing work?

A small welcome round at the beginning familiarized children and mentors with each other. This was particularly important because there were usually two children per dashbot. This meant that small groups were formed and the tasks were completed together.

The CoderDojo then introduced itself and the tasks were explained.

Each task was divided into two parts. The first sticker was awarded for solving the task with free control of the dashbot. For the second part, the same task had to be solved by programming.  

Workshop stations

1. sandbox
   First to familiarize themselves with the controls; children should move the robot towards them and complete the first mission of the Dashbot story.
2. catapult
   The dashbots were equipped with small catapults. Now they shot table tennis balls into buckets, sometimes wildly, sometimes in a controlled manner. 3rd Theater A box with miniature theater utensils allowed for creative free play. The aim here was to come up with a little theater play and have the robot perform it.
3. soccer
   In a small soccer field, free kicks could be practiced or a cozy game with two dashbots could be played. 5th Labyrinth
   A small taped parkour that had to be navigated. It was often very impressive to see how the dashbots navigated the entire parkour on their own after successful programming.  

After two days full of curiosity, wonderful experiences and lots of colorful stickers, this year’s Dashbot workshop at the FEZ came to an end. Children as well as parents and caregivers had a lot of fun experimenting - often they stayed even longer, their curiosity had gripped them. As mentors, we also had a lot of fun helping them to try things out and learn.

Thanks to all the participants and the FEZ for this enchanting weekend!