Description
Kids can take their first steps into coding and the exciting world of programming and circuit building with Power Tracks.
Connect the large tabletop tiles to make one of twenty circuits, or design your own. Use the direction of the buttons to program Volty with commands to guide around the circuit and discover Volty’s many hidden features as Volty travels over special tiles.
Can you make it all the way back to the start? Don’t worry if you make a mistake, it’s all part of the learning fun; just re-code Volty and try again.
Power Tracks comes complete with: Volty the robot (requires 3 x AAA batteries – not supplied), twenty four double-sided circuit tiles, ten double-sided circuit diagrams, forty command cards and clear instructions.
What our testers said
“I wonder if his eyes light up when he passes the bulb?” – Boy aged 9
“We told it to go left and it did- it does what we say!” – Girl aged 6
What our experts think
Power Tracks allows children to immerse themselves in the world of coding in a fun, engaging and accessible way. Our testers enjoyed coding Volty the robot and watching what happened – they had to work logically and clearly learnt from their mistakes as they recoded and tried to correct their errors. This is a great product for collaborative play (although it can be successfully played with by one child). We observed a high degree of teamwork and lots of higher level questioning as the children challenged one another and made suggestions based on their experiences.
As well as learning about programming, the children also developed their instruction following skills, their problem-solving skills and learnt about circuits which is great for important learning in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths). We really liked the different challenges and this was a big hit with the children who readily attempted the harder cards with varying degrees of success (but they didn’t give up and showed real perseverance). We found that Volty worked best on smooth surfaces, as it was significantly slower on carpet.
Skills developed
– Develops coding skills
– Encourages children to follow instructions
– Encourages children to work logically
