My son is 5 and wants to learn how to build robots. Anyone know of age-appropriate books, resources, or kits that have worked well for their kids? We're homeschooling, so curriculum tips are also appreciated.
For a five year old who wants to build robots, I would recommend cardboard, duct tape, poster paint, encouragement, and staying out of their way.<p>Let them express their understanding of robots, not yours.
Lego Mindstorms. The great thing about them is that they combine both the mechanical design aspect (why use wheels or tread? what happens if the robot is too big and isn't stable enough? etc.) with the programming side of things.<p>For something more "pure electronics" oriented, I also highly recommend the book Junkbots, which focuses on building small robots (that do fun things) out of household items:<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/JunkBots-Bugbots-Bots-Wheels-Technology/dp/0072226013/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337622319&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/JunkBots-Bugbots-Bots-Wheels-Technolog...</a>
Aside from the lego route, you have another option.<p>Parallax, the basic stmap guys have a robot for beginners. Its already built and the body is covered with a plastic shell. It is programmed using basic.<p>Great people too.