You might have already heard about the awesome Sphero, but did you know that the programmable robot ball has a new recently launched edition? The Sphero SPRK Edition is an educational robotic toy that makes learning about programing, robotics, technology, and beyond fun for kids.
My oldest son and daughter love technology, robotics, and just learning how things work. The Sphero SPRK Edition is GREAT not only for them, but my husband and myself as well. I guess you could say we’re one of those geeky families who loves tech, robotics, learning how things work so we can do something new.
Sphero SPRK Edition & SPRK App Get the Educational Ball Rolling
I’m sure most of you would agree that our children learn best when in a fun environment or in this case playing with a sophisticated toy that makes learning fun. We have been playing with the Sphero for the past few weeks and have grown to love the little guy, not just the kids either, my husband and I love him too. Seriously, getting my husband to share the Sphero with the kids takes mom stepping in and reminding him that it’s our kids toy.
The Sphero allows kids and adults to see the balls tech inside, which is supposed to help them see what the ball does and what they are programming the ball to do. Did you know that you’ll be able to get the Sphero rolling at up to 4.5 MPS because it’s propelled by an electric motor?
The Sphero SPRK Edition and the awesome SPRK app are a great way to inspire a love for STEM principles, coding, and robotics while teaching children the power of conditions in programing, cause and effect – all while having fun. Kids and adults (trust me you’ll love this things too) can use the SPRK app to give their Sphero robot orders using Sphero’s own C-based language, OVAL.
Kids can now get the ball rolling, fire up their imagination and break all the rules about learning!
Parents, don’t worry about the ball bumping into things, it’s tough, thanks to the polycarbonate shell that protect all the awesome techy insides which include an ultra-bright LEDs that give your Sphero a million colors to choose from.
Whether you are a beginner or a techy savvy Sphero fan you’ll love the Sphero because it can be hacked and programmed so it’s evolved with you.
What comes with the Sphero SPRK Edition
You’ll find all sorts of good stuff that comes with the Sphero SPRK Edition, like:
- Sphero SPRK Edition
- Quick start guide
- New Sphero SPRK apps, which includes some pretty great free games that can be downloaded in Google Play, Apple App Store, as well as the Window Store.
- Power Adapter
- Charging base
- Genius kit with protractor
- Notebook
- Pencil
Get accessories
As of right now you can get the Sphero Chariot and the Sphero Nubby Cover for your Sphero SPRK Edition to accessorize and make it cooler than it already is, which isn’t easy so hats off to Sphero for amking awesome accessories.
The Sphero SPRK Edition app has tons of great features:
- Teach Your Robot – Whether you are a child or an adult, combining commands such as – spin, flip, change color and roll to create more complex instruction for your robot to follow is super fun.
- Accessible for all Ages – The Sphero SPRK app is great for everyone, it’s easy for beginners and sophisticated enough to challenge savvy programers.
- Block-Basked Programing – Why not transform your ideas into code by using the visual build blocks that represent Sphero’s C-based language, which is called OVAL.
- Text-Basic Code Viewer – Once you have combined commands be sure to see the code and use it as a foundation to learn more about programing.
You can download the app in Google Play and Apple App Store.
Other apps you can download:
- MacroLap – You can create repeatable programs and macros for your Sphero. It’s a great app to help you learn basic programming while having fun.
- OrbBasic for Sphero – Another cool that that allows you to step things up by allowing to execute basic programs, prototype and create behaviors while exploring the way the inside of your Sphero works. Great tool for basic programing.
- Blockly Beta – This is a Google Chrome extension that allows you to try programming with an easy to use interface that is built for PCs, MAC, and Chromebooks.
- Drwn N’ Drive – My youngest daughter loves this app. With Draw N’ Drive you can use your finger to create a path on your device for your Sphero to follow.
You can also download a few of Sphero’s partner apps – Tickle and Tynker.
I think it’s safe to say that the Sphero SPRK Edition does just what they set out to do, inspire tomorrow inventors and innovators. You can get the Sphero SPRK Edition when you visit Sphero.com for only $129.99. To learn more about the Sphero SPRK Edition you can cehck out Sphero on their YouTube Channel, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google +.
I am an Orbotix Blogger Ambassador. This post is part of a sponsored campaign. I received compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.
2 comments
Some of this is beyond my understanding so I am sure I could learn alot as well as my grandchildren. I will have to check this out for Christmas. Thank you so much for sharing this
This looks like a great device. It sounds like a wonderful learning tool. Thank you for sharing this review.