The LEGO Mindstorms NXT Robotics kit is a wonderful way for kids ages 8 – 100+ 
to build and program robots. Follow these steps, in order, to teach your kids about LEGO Mindstorms NXT Robotics, using free online resources:
- LEGO Mindstorms NXT: A Brief Introduction & Tutorial Part 1 is an 8 minute YouTube tutorial by Chad Cardwell which teaches about the parts of a LEGO Mindstorms Kit.
- LEGO Mindstorms NXT: A Brief Introduction & Tutorial Part 2 is a second 8.5 minute tutorial by Chad Cardwell, which introduces how to program a LEGO Mindstorms Robot. It is just an introduction, but I think it’s a good one.
- Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Academy posts samplings of it’s NXT Video Trainer 2.0 software. These samplings – the ones not in dark gray – are fully available and great for introducing you or your child to LEGO Mindstorms NXT Robotics. I suggest actually doing the exercises while watching the videos. Here is the order I would watch them in:
- Under the “Basics” button,
- Powering the NXT
- Thinking about Programming
- Using the NXT
- Under the “Behaviors” button,
- Move straight
- Move until touch
- Repeating behaviors
- Under the “Challenges” button,
- Playing a sound
- Under the “Basics” button,
- Next, follow the Oregon Robotics Tournament & Outreach Program’s tutorial & exercises:
- By this step, you should have a good grasp of the basics and some advanced skills. For robot ideas, visit the following sites:
These are good sites for cool designs, but for more, just do an internet search for “LEGO Mindstorms NXT designs”. Lots of sites will pop up.
- LEGO Engineering: Building & Programming has the NXT Constructopedia Beta 2.1 that you should also take a look at.
- Here are some of my favorite books. I bought them for my son, as well as a local elementary school robotics club that I started:
- Visit VA Geek Mom’s Store for other products I like and use for my FIRST Lego League team.
- If you want to start a FIRST Lego League robotics team, see my FIRST Lego League Coaches tutorial…
I am so happy that my quick start tutorial on LEGO Mindstorms NXT is what you were looking for. I plan to produce more similar tutorials on the following technologies for kids: GameMaker, Alice, Arduino, HTML, Microsoft Kodu, SAM Animation, Geocaching, Scratch & WEDO robotics (for early middle schoolers), and many others. On my blog is another tutorial on Scratch – a graphical programming language for 7 -12 year olds – which is developed by MIT. It is a wonderful & free technology for kids. My goal, through my blog (which is just getting started), is to make it easy for busy parents to learn these great available STEM technologies, so they can teach them to their kids. Busy parents want to teach their kids these things most of the time, but the start-up time investment usually keeps it from happening. I am glad you persevered with your hunt. Please pass my website (www.vageekmom.com) on to others. If you would like to receive other tutorials like these via email, just subscribe with your email address at my website.
Thanks!
Wendy
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Hello Wendy
I just got a Nxt 2.o robot and i have built it but do you know any cool things that i can teach it to do on the disc. It just shows all this stuff that looks like microsoft excel and i don’t know what to do
please email me if get the chance
Thanks
Hi Reynolds,
You must load the NXT G programming software on your computer in order to program the robot. Have you gotten that far yet?
-Wendy
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