As technology improves, robotics becomes more relevant in society. Schools adopting advanced STEM curriculums or looking to stay up to date with robotics & AI trends would like to include some material to cover these popular and increasingly relevant topic. School districts and principles are increasingly asking to adopt robotics as part of their curriculum. As an educator asked to teach kids robotics with no formal background in robotics, we strive to make resources available to help you explain how robotics work.
If you are an educator with no background in robotics, we recommend viewing our comprehensive introductory video explainer on robotics:
You can find the slides used in our explainer videos for free on our free robotics teaching resources page.
I recommend including numerous visuals in any explanation on robotics, as a lot of the concepts may be represented visually. Using Gifs/small videos over images can enhance the experience further:
There are many high level concepts to touch on, that I review in my What is a robot and how do robots experience the world posts. I recommend framing questions and answers from the perspective of common questions kids would ask. For example, instead of “computer vision”, we can talking about “how robots see”. It is important to also highlight why we should not be scared of robots.
Topics I recommend any educator familiarize themselves with:
1. What Differentiates Robots from Appliances
To explain the difference between robots and appliances to kids, start with familiar examples. Robots are machines that can sense their surroundings, think about what they sense, and respond or act based on that information. Appliances, like toasters or microwaves, can only perform specific tasks when turned on, but they don’t sense or think—they just follow simple commands. A fun way to teach this is by comparing a vacuum cleaner with a robot vacuum. A regular vacuum only works when a person pushes it around, while a robot vacuum senses where it’s going, avoids obstacles, and decides where to clean next. Let kids try both to see the difference firsthand.
2. How Do Robots Understand the World
Robots understand the world through sensors, which are like their senses. Explain to kids that just like we use our eyes, ears, and hands to see, hear, and feel things, robots use cameras, microphones, and touch sensors. You can use an analogy: If a robot has a temperature sensor, it’s like feeling whether something is hot or cold. A simple activity would be to let kids touch different textures (soft, hard, rough) and guess what they are while blindfolded. Then explain that robots do something similar but rely on electronic sensors instead of skin.
3. How Do Robots See
Robots “see” using cameras, which act like eyes, but they don’t see exactly like humans do. Teach kids that the camera sends pictures to the robot’s brain, which is a computer, and special programs analyze the pictures to figure out what objects are in front of the robot. To demonstrate, use a camera or smartphone with an object recognition app and let kids see how it identifies objects like a ball or a chair. Then explain that robots use similar computer vision software to understand what’s around them so they can move safely.
4. How Do Robots Decide What to Do
Robots decide what to do using their “brain,” which is a computer running programs or algorithms. These programs are like instructions that tell the robot how to react to what it senses. For example, a robot with a light sensor might decide to follow a bright light. You can make this concept interactive by introducing a simple robot toy, like one that follows a line on the ground. Let kids observe how the robot moves based on the line and explain that it follows instructions given by its program to make decisions. This activity helps them see decision-making in action. Most robots have path planners or trajectory optimizers to decide which action to take.
With all of the topics covered, students will understand at a high level what a robot is and how it works. You too should now know how to teach kids robotics!
