SPIKE Prime Robotics Camp
Audience: Students ages 9-14 (no coding experience needed)
Format: 5 daily sessions, 3 hours each (9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.)
Theme: “Teach the robot to do exactly what you mean”
Tools: LEGO SPIKE Prime + Pybricks (block coding or Python)
Series Overview
Over five mornings, teams program a LEGO SPIKE Prime robot. Each day is a mission that upgrades what the robot can do — drive on command, solve a maze, turn accurately with a gyro, react to obstacles, and finally follow a line. The camp is cumulative: the same robot and the same code grow across the week, so what you build on Day 1 you keep using on Day 5.
The robot says: I do exactly what your code says — no more, no less. When something looks wrong, that’s not a failure, it’s sensor data. Read what the code actually told me to do, and you’ll find the fix.
The Missions
| # | Session | Mission | New Skill |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Drive | Make your robot drive a distance, turn an angle, and trace a square | Distance, angle, for loop, calibration |
| 2 | Maze Runner | Get your robot through a taped maze without touching the walls | Sequencing, functions |
| 3 | Gyro Precision | Upgrade the robot’s “inner compass” so turns stay accurate | The gyro, reading a heading |
| 4 | Obstacle Avoidance | Give your robot eyes so it reacts to the world | Sensors, if/else, while loop |
| 5 | Line Following | Teach your robot to follow a line, then demo the week | Reflection, threshold, proportional control |
Teams and Roles
12 students share 3 SPIKE Prime kits in teams of 4. Everyone codes — roles rotate about every 20 minutes so each person tries each job:
- Coder — types the program and runs it
- Builder / Mechanic — checks the robot, motors, and sensor mounting
- Navigator — plans the moves as pseudocode on paper before they’re typed
- Tester — measures results, records numbers, and reports what actually happened
Every robotics block also has an off-robot task so all four teammates stay busy even when it isn’t their turn at the keyboard.
Setup & Prerequisites
Pybricks runs in a web browser over Bluetooth — there is nothing to install on student laptops. This is different from our other workshops, and it has a few requirements worth checking ahead of time.
Browser & device requirements
- Use Chrome, Edge, or Chromium with Web Bluetooth. This works on Windows laptops and Chromebooks (ChromeOS) — our two main platforms.
- iPads and iPhones are NOT supported (iOS Safari and Chrome-for-iOS don’t support Web Bluetooth). Firefox is not supported on any platform. If someone brings a tablet, it won’t be able to connect.
One-time hub setup (instructor, before camp)
Each SPIKE Prime hub needs a one-time firmware install over a micro-USB cable: first the latest official LEGO SPIKE firmware, then the Pybricks firmware from code.pybricks.com. After that, the hub connects over Bluetooth for the rest of the week. Full steps are in the instructor’s Setup & Firmware Guide.
Robots are pre-built before Day 1 using the standard two-motor driving base, so Day 1 goes straight to connecting and driving.
Block coding or Python?
Pybricks supports both block coding and text Python — same robot, same ideas. Newer or younger students can start in blocks; students ready for typing can use the Python shown in each session. Every session includes a block-coding guide alongside the Python so both tracks stay together.
Materials Checklist
- 3 LEGO SPIKE Prime sets (the base set includes the color and distance sensors)
- 3+ Windows laptops or Chromebooks with Chrome / Edge / Chromium
- 1 micro-USB cable for the one-time firmware install
- Painters’ tape (mazes)
- Black electrical tape + white poster board (line following)
- Cardboard and blocks (obstacle course)
- Whiteboards / paper (pseudocode and planning)
- Rulers / measuring tape (calibration)
- Hub name labels (animal or city names) so teams can find their hub in the Bluetooth list
Keep Learning
The Learn More page collects Pybricks documentation, robotics tutorials, and ideas for what to build after camp.
Robot’s Journey
- After Day 1: the robot drives a calibrated distance, turns an angle, and traces a square
- After Day 2: the robot solves a maze using named, reusable moves (functions)
- After Day 3: the robot uses its gyro for noticeably straighter, more accurate turns
- After Day 4: the robot senses obstacles and changes what it does in response
- After Day 5: the robot follows a line — and the team can explain how they tuned it