Sphero Mini Activity Kit + 12 Lessons

A robotic ball small enough to fit in a hand, and twelve self-paced lessons in the Sammat Online Academy that teach a child to code it. The Activity Kit adds the props — a construction set, bowling pins and cones — so there is something to drive around from the first afternoon.

What's included:

• 1 x Sphero Mini robotic ball with a clear shell
• 28-piece construction set, 6 bowling pins and 3 cones
• 15 activity cards
• Robotic ball cover and a micro USB cable
• 12 self-paced lessons in the Sammat Online Academy, with written guides and video walkthroughs

What your child practises:

• Drawing a path for the robot to follow — coding before reading code
• Scratch-style blocks for loops, conditions and sensor input
• JavaScript text programming once the blocks feel easy
• Building mazes and obstacle courses, then programming a route through them

Free Sphero Edu app, available for iOS, Android, Kindle, Mac, Windows and Chrome. The ball charges over micro USB and connects by Bluetooth. This is the education edition, which ships in non-retail packaging.