Lego Mindstorms - how easy?

[nolanfan34]

Hey gang,

Question for you all. I have never bought or tried any of the Mindstorms products. My son just turned 7 and I think would be interested in starting to learn this summer. So wondering...

- How easy is the programming? Would he be able to do simple stuff? He is reading pretty well and can navigate a mouse and keyboard a bit.

- Would past versions be easy to use? Like would a Mindstorms 2.0 still have working software? We have a Windows 7 desktop with a DVD drive, so assuming we could just install older software.

Any thoughts appreciated. He is really interested in robots and building apps so I'd like to start on an older/cheaper version before spending on the latest version.

[gregpj]

I just literally opened my new Mindstorms EV3 this morning ... I'll keep you posted.

The box and assortment of parts look really cool and there appear to be a ton of resources out there. I think how much your son "gets" it will depend on how much "fun" he's having. Programming isn't hard so my guess is that he'd pick it up pretty easily.

[El Guapo]

Definitely interested in this too.  My seven year old has been taking apart his different toys in order to "build" a robot.  Being a Lego household, was definitely thinking of getting him a mindstorm.

[MartinP]

Question for you all. I have never bought or tried any of the Mindstorms products. My son just turned 7 and I think would be interested in starting to learn this summer. So wondering...

- How easy is the programming? Would he be able to do simple stuff? He is reading pretty well and can navigate a mouse and keyboard a bit.

- Would past versions be easy to use? Like would a Mindstorms 2.0 still have working software? We have a Windows 7 desktop with a DVD drive, so assuming we could just install older software.

Any thoughts appreciated. He is really interested in robots and building apps so I'd like to start on an older/cheaper version before spending on the latest version.

​A few years ago, I bought the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 and from my experience with it, the programming is simple for the most part, but it gets a lot tougher when you program more advanced stuff. If you buy a Mindstorms 2.0 that is complete with the software installation disk, it is definitely compatible with an Windows 7 computer with a DVD drive. There are also several books that you could purchase along with the Mindstorms set. They have alternate instructions to build awesome stuff, like a simple working printer!!

[stephen_rockefeller]

Programming could be a bit much for a seven year old on his own but it's a great opportunity for you to bond with your kiddo! With a little help from you I think your kid will be fine.

[StormBricks]

On the box it says 10+. Its not only about building complexity or programming but also fixing pieces together may many times need more power than  7 years old hands. The best to do is work with him together and assign him parts of the work. This way he would learn better and even better: learn team work behavior.

[10230]

Seven is about the age I would start recommending it if the kid is "into building robots" a bit. Programming it is pretty simple. Of course you can go overboard, and then it gets tedious, but then you shouldn't use Labview (that is what it is based on) anyway.