• High school STEM programs
• After school robotics clubs
• Scout Robotics Merit Badge
• Home school curriculum and enrichment programs
• College introduction to engineering, mechatronics, and robotics

Ideal for visual learners, this curriculum demonstrates step-by-step how to assemble, wire, and program the Boe-Bot.  3D models and video show every wire and component, making it easy to see precisely where each is plugged in on the breadboard so student success is assured.  Learning has never been so fast, fun, engaging, and rewarding.

Full Classroom Curriculum:

Meet STEM goals with lesson plans for 14 lessons - each with outcomes, assignments, videos, simulations, and activities – that can be set up for 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 weeks.  Includes exploration of the robotics industry and careers as well as hands-on activities with the Boe-Bot robot.  The digital portfolio tool records observations and captures visual data for activities.  This curriculum with testing, group projects, and a license for computer labs makes it easy and affordable to teach robotics in middle or high school, or after school programs. See the YouTube video and find out more at ExploringRobotics.com.

Exploring Robotics with Electronics: Boe-Bot Activities Guide Only:

Great for individuals or programs that don’t need the full curriculum.   3D models in SketchUp provide step-by-step instructions for hands-on robot building activities. Videos provide instructions and quick comprehension of mechanics, electronics, and engineering concepts.  Software tool makes creating programs easier. Online portfolio to share work with others and get assistance when needed. Find out more at ExploringRobotics.com.

Holmes Junior High School Robotics Club

The Holmes Junior High School Robotics Club meets for an hour every Tuesday afternoon and in this time the students program and explore robots. Jennifer Sommer, a teacher at Holmes Junior High School, heads the robotics club; founded after a budget cut forced the school to cancel what was normally a full semester of robotics education aimed at eight and ninth-graders, she keeps that education alive by advising the students willing to attend the club.

A dozen students find their way to Sommer's computer lab in the afternoon and dive into robotics. The club hosts pupils of varying robotics experience, many of those in attendance operate on Lego's NXT system; however one student who is very comfortable with robots is programming in BASIC on Parallax's Boe-Bot robot. The students are encouraged to explore their education in anyway they see fit, and often innovate by watching one another while testing new theories and applications.

Check out a full report - Holmes Robotics Club
Or download a pdf version here - Holmes Robotics Club (.pdf)

BoeBotTeacher — Resources for Teaching with the Parallax Boe-Bot

BoeBotTeacher.com is for instructors and students that use the Boe-Bot robot. Check out the high-quality animations that explain the harder Boe-Bot concepts. The site includes a database of calibration data for the IR and servos; submit your data and see hundreds of other measurements using the real-time graphics. Do you think you know the Boe-Bot? Try the Q-and-A puzzlers.

YouTube Videos accessible through the animated images below.

Boe-Bot Robot National Competition in Taiwan

Parallax distributor, Play Robot supports the educational community in Taiwan by hosting an annual Boe-Bot competition. The competition has been running for three years, and includes teachers, students and schools from all over Taiwan.

View a video of the event here.

Trinidad State Junior College Robotics Team

They programmed, they participated, and they triumphed!

For two years running, students on the Trinidad State Junior College robotics team fared remarkably well in the annual Colorado Robot Challenge at the Great Sand Dunes National Park east of Alamosa. This challenge aims to simulate autonomous robot missions to Mars.

“Casper”, successfully completed several of the challenges’ courses before its rear whisker got hung up and left the robot stuck in a hole. TSJC was also the only school that had success with the beacon the first time out. Each robot had to take signals from a stationary beacon that directed them to roll westward.

Download: More Information (link to attached PDF) about TSJC’s Robot (5th Annual Colorado Robot Challenge)
Download: More Information about TSJC's Robot (4th Annual Colorado Robot Challenge)

Grace Episcopal School GatorBots Robotics Club

The Rev'd Whit Stodghill is an Episcopal Priest, hobby roboticist and teacher. He is the faculty sponsor for the GatorBots, the robotics' club of Grace Episcopal School, which includes his two children. The club is currently made up of 18 - fourth, fifth and sixth graders - all using the Scribbler Robot.

Whit also runs introductory robotics' camps for the Monroe City Schools through their department of Instructional Technology. These camps are geared for Middle School and High School students and also use the Scribbler Robot. The camps involve a week-long set of after-school sessions where the students learn the basics of robotics. The students then become involved in a robotics club at each school to continue learning. The program is funded by a grant that allows each student to keep their Scribbler Robot. The school system hopes to work toward integrating robotics into their regular curriculum.

Whit is a frequent contributor to the Forums and you can visit his web site at Robotics Under the Stole (off site)

LearnOnLine - Developer of REEL Power™

REEL Power™ - Renewable Energy Education Lab tm - products from learnonline.com define teaching and learning about 21st Century renewable energy technologies like solar, wind and hydrogen. All of our products are crafted to inspire compelling interest in STEM subjects related to renewable energy.

They are all hands-on and project-oriented and made for group as well as individual activities. Each product has rigorous, inquiry-based activities and all are specifically designed to be interfaced to a computer for real-time graphic display. Our products transform the classroom computer into a laboratory instrument that help train students for actual real-world careers in engineering and science.

Click here to go to learnonline.com (off site)

Dr. David Hall's Engineering 122 course (Engineering Problem Solving III) focuses on electromechanical systems, selected math and science topics, fabrication, troubleshooting, communication and computer applications. Dr. HallÍs students are tasked with building a functional project using their Parallax kits and recently-developed mechanical skills. The syllabus includes both the theory and practical use of materials in fabrication.

To view the 2008 Student Projects click here.
To view the 2007 Student Projects click here.

Institute for Personal Robots in Education

The Institute for Personal Robots in Education has produced a low-cost device geared towards helping teachers and other scholarly exploits geared towards educating people in field of programming.  Myro is their short term for My Robotics, which is the term they use for their robotics curriculum and program for helping people understand how to program.

Visit the Site: Institute for Personal Robots in Education

MATE/ROV - Monterey, California

The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center’s annual Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Building Institute highlighted the versatility of the Parallax Basic Stamp. Twenty-two educators from high schools and colleges throughout the nation spent eight days building their own underwater robots called ROVs. Throughout the week they learned about marine technology with focus on ROV technologies, programming the Parallax BASIC Stamp, motor controls, SolidWorks and hearing from guest speakers in industry and science. At the end of the week their vehicles were used to complete missions to replicate ROV work for International Polar Year.

These educators have now taken their skills, excitement and donated Parallax Basic Stamp Activity Kits back to their home institutions and students. Many are preparing their students to participate in a MATE regional or international ROV competition. One workshop participant said, “This institute workshop greatly raised the bar of what technology means in the classroom. I really want to pursue the BASIC Stamp programming and CAD design programs.

I know so many people in their work that use this designing of computers or using computers to design that I am thrilled to have something to get my students started and motivated in these areas. I believe the ROV building will provide motivation for my students to pursue these programming areas. COOL WORKSHOP!!!” For more information on MATE’s summer institutes, please visit the MATE web site:

A Tiny Town on Chapin Lawn; Smith College in Massachusetts, USA

At Smith College in Massachusetts, first-year engineering students have spent their time in an Engineering 100 course taught by Paul Voss designing, prototyping, and testing their programming and insulation concepts applied to tiny constructed homes. The students in the course are challenged with the task of designing miniature homes that retain heat and stay well lit through the day using solar energy and know-how.  Their concept homes are then tested; data derived from the tests are stored in a BASIC Stamp microcontroller and the students are then encouraged to adapt and improve upon their homes using the collected results from their concept designs.

Through completing this course the students are able to put the theories they've learned in previous years of schooling, as well as newly founded thoughts, and apply them directly to a real world object.  They gain a better understanding of the transfer and loss of heat, problems associated in solar energy, and much more in the field of engineering.

To read and see more about this amazing project please visit the Smith College News site.
More recent developments at Smith College.

PBASIC and Boe-Bot Training in Penang, Malaysia

PBASIC and Boe-Bot Training was held April 2006 at INTI International College in Penang. Photos feature instructors from the Electronic Engineering Department.

Scribbler Camp in Negeri Sembilam, Malaysia

Scribbler camps for student's grades 4-8 were held in March 2006 at Chung Hua High School in Serembam, Negeri Sembilam, Malaysia. The camp took place in conjunction with the 2nd Malaysia Independent Chinese Secondary Schools Camp. MICSS is an influential national educational organization in Malaysia. The photo features students and the high school principal, Lee Pau Wing.

The Following Information is Courtesy of the SIU Newsletter

The EST program hosted their 2nd annual robotics camp for students ages 12 to 15. Faculty member Martin Hebel directed the two 3 ½ day camps in July. The focus of the robotics camp is basic electronics and programming for autonomous and tele-robotics.

Electronic Highlights!
Through experiments with the Boe-Bot robot, from Parallax, Inc., campers worked with basic DC electronic theory, such as using Ohm's Law for the sizing of resistors for use with LEDs. Signals from an airplane RC remote control for servo control were analyzed using an oscilloscope, and campers learned how to re-create the signals with their controller for robotic control action. Tactile, photo-resistive, and infrared sensors were used for object sensing using digital and analog inputs. Motion control using PWM and H-Bridge drive was also explored.

Programming Highlights!
The BASIC Stamp microcontroller, on the bots, were programmed by campers in PBASIC, a version of the popular BASIC language. Through programming, the campers were able to control output devices, such as LEDs, buzzers and servos. They were also able to read and respond to input data from the sensors, and operator-controlled devices such as RF and infrared remote controls.

Problem Solving!
Problem-solving was a major component to the camp. Competition challenges were used to stimulate the camper’s creativity and problem solving abilities. Challenges included dead-reckoning a path and analyzing systems in order to write original code. In the dead-reckoning challenge, campers were provided only with the parameters of a track. By analyzing the speed of their robot, they had to code routines that would cause it to traverse a course without touching the boundaries.

Kudos!
The college thanks Don Bless (science teacher from Cobden High School), Brandon Byars (prior year camp attendee and son of faculty member Jeff Squibb), Michael Fisher (EST student), Pat Eckert (SIU Division of Continuing Education) and Ken Gracey(Vice President, Parallax, Inc), for their assistance.

The camp was thoroughly enjoyed by the attendees, and parents were appreciative of having it available as a summer activity. While we, of course, hope to recruit future students, a larger goal is to ignite junior high and high school student interest in electronics, programming, and technology through robotics.

Sponsors Needed!
While this was a good starting point, the faculty, parents, and campers would like to see this camp grow in scope. Additions to this camp, or higher-level camps, requires the purchase of costly mechanical, pneumatic, and electrical systems beyond what could be covered through 'camper fees'. The college is seeking individual and corporate sponsors to help cover the material and scholarship costs for next summer. Interested parties may contact Michael Ellis at michaele@siu.edu or 618-536-6682.

Yuga Electronics Supplies Robot Competition in Singapore

Parallax distributor, Yuga Electronics, supports the educational community in Singapore with hands-on trainings and robotics competitions. In 2003, they held a very successful robotics event with students participating in a wide variety of contests.  The top finishers took home trophies and Boe-Bot® Full Kits, with everyone involved learning new technology skills (including programming a microcontroller and building circuits for the first time)!  Students are very excited for a similar event in 2004.

Learning Subroutines with the Boe-Bot Robot

The students at Silver Stage High School have learned how to program the Boe-Bot robot to create art on paper. Each piece of art was drawn by a robot that had a marker attached to it. Each picture had to be a repeated pattern made with a series of subroutines. The students really enjoyed this project and it helped them better understand the use of subroutines in programming. For more examples of the artwork, visit the project page submitted by Jim Berryman-Shafer.

Laura Wong Wins Multiple Awards in 2003

Laura has been the recipient of the following awards at the Mercer Science and Engineering Fair:

• Intel Computer Science Award
• AirTrax Reinventing the Wheel
• Army Award
• Air Force Award
• Kodak Award
• First Place Computer Science Award
• Princeton Plasma Physics Lab Award
• Yale Science and Engineering Award for Outstanding Junior

Nanyang Technical University, Singapore

Singapore's Nanyang Technical University created this 13-foot, sixty legged centipede. The robot uses over 30 BASIC Stamp modules. United Kingdom visiting professor Dr. Francis Nichols teaches a mechatronics class at NTU where students integrate their electrical and mechanical designs to create robots that swim, walk, and roll. According to Dr. Nichols, the first time they programmed the centipede it walked "not bad, but tended to jack-knife". This will be fixed by having a pair of potentiometers between each sir legged section. This potentiometer pair will measure the distance and angle between each section to actively control the relative position of itself with respect to the preceding section.

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team used BASIC Stamp modules for use in their vehicle's new digital control system. The BASIC Stamp reports operational diagnostics such as battery voltage, current collection and consumption and interfaces to the telemetry system using a modem. The vehicle competed in the World Solar Challenge in a race across Australia in October, 1999.

Christchurch, New Zealand

Sponsored by the non-profit Electroflash (partnership between education and the electronics industry) and New Zealand distributor Trade-Tech, Parallax taught four BASIC Stamp classes to educators across the country. This picture shows a teacher calibrating an AD 592 temperature transducer by soaking it in an ice bath, then a cup of warm water.

University of Idaho Moscow, Idaho

Professor Chuck Schoeffler received his first Board of Education programming board and mounted it on a robot chassis, known today as the Boe-Bot robot.

Here you see two conventional Boe-Bot robots using the BS2-IC and a Board of Education carrier board, but the yellow and red versions are using the original BASIC Stamp Rev. D. Dr. Scheoffler inspired the creation of the Boe-Bot robot and authored the Robotics tutorial. He creates infrared communication, sound, and networking applications with the Boe-Bot robots. Feel free to contact Chuck Schoeffler by e-mail.

Boston, Massachusetts

Tom Kennedy of New Jersey won the Duracell / National Science Teacher Association "Battery Powered Project" with his laptop anti-theft device. The laptop was connected to a tilt switch read by a BASIC Stamp module. If the laptop was tilted, the BASIC Stamp microcontroller would activate a siren alarm.

Tom used two Radiometrix RF modules to add a remote-control arming device. This picture shows Tom working in the Parallax booth at the National Science Teacher Association Conference in Boston, Massachusetts in April, 1999. Tom received a $20,000 scholarship for his project. Tom says the idea came to him while "being in the library talking on a phone, thinking how easy it would be for somebody to steal this guy's laptop". Two out of the three competition winners used BASIC Stamp modules in their applications.