Girl ScoutsAmbassadorGrades 11-12

Programming Robots

Program a maze-solving robot

Learn how robots sense, think and act, design a motorized robot's body in the Robotics configurator, trace how inputs, a controller and outputs work together, plan a maze and a rule that solves any simple maze, then program a simulated robot with a distance sensor and a light sensor to find its own way out of a maze. Covers all five steps of the Ambassador Programming Robots badge.

Time
About 2 hours, in two sittings
Steps
5 badge steps, 2 of them in Robotics
You need
A computer or Chromebook with a mouse or trackpad. Building a real motorized model in step 2 is optional: a small DC motor, a battery pack, wire, tape and cardboard or recycled parts. No account needed.
Unlock the kit, $5 I have a code

$5 for one scout: every step, the Robotics activities that check the work, the printable lesson, and the certificate with a page of the scout's own work.

A small robot on the black goal square of a walled maze, its orange pen trail showing every turn and dead end it tried on the way.

Badge requirements: the 5 steps

  1. 1Learn about robotsRead and quizRobots beat people at fast, repetitive, precise work, and people beat robots at anything new. Both come down to sense, think, act.
  2. 2Build a robot model: motorized robotIn RoboticsA robot's body decides what it can do: how big it is, how its motors drive the wheels, where its sensors look. Design one in the Configurator, then see it on the floor.
  3. 3Explore the way robotics systems work togetherRead and quizInputs, a controller and outputs only make a robot when they work as one loop. Follow a single decision through all three.
  4. 4Learn about programmingMaze planPrograms that work once are easy. The real test is one that solves any simple maze. Plan a maze, then a rule that does not depend on knowing it.
  5. 5Write a program for a robotIn RoboticsTurn the right-hand rule into a program. The robot does not know this maze: it only feels walls with its distance sensor and sees the black goal square with its light sensor.
Robotics on the Blocks tab: the block list on the left with Movement open, and a program of Move Forward and Turn Right blocks under When Started.
Each step shows how Robotics works, then opens it with a checklist that ticks as the work gets done.

Work on a computer. The apps need a keyboard and a bigger screen than a phone: a laptop, desktop or Chromebook. You can pay here and open the emailed link on the computer.

One scout

Unlock the kit, $5

  • All 5 steps, worked on screen, with a lesson you can print if you like paper
  • Robotics activities that check the work as it is done
  • A numbered certificate with a page of the scout's own work: your maze plan, your pseudocode and your robot's program

We email a link that opens the kit on any computer. No account needed. We keep the email only to send the kit and certificate links: privacy.

Have a discount code?
Leaders: unlock it for the whole troop

One payment and one code. Each scout types the code to unlock the kit on their own computer, and gets their own certificate at the end. Your pack page shows who has started and finished.

See a sample certificate (PDF) · Already paid? Find your link

Questions

What are the requirements for the Girl Scout Ambassador Programming Robots badge?

The badge has 5 steps: 1. Learn about robots; 2. Build a robot model: motorized robot; 3. Explore the way robotics systems work together; 4. Learn about programming; 5. Write a program for a robot. This kit covers all 5, with activities that check the work as it is done.

Is there a printable version?

Yes. Once unlocked, the whole lesson prints, one step at a time, for a meeting or a table. Printing is optional: every step also works on screen, and a sample certificate PDF is on this page.

What does a scout need?

A computer or Chromebook with a mouse or trackpad. Building a real motorized model in step 2 is optional: a small DC motor, a battery pack, wire, tape and cardboard or recycled parts. No account needed. About 2 hours, in two sittings.

Can a troop leader get it for the whole troop?

Yes. A troop pack is one payment and one code: up to 12 scouts for $20, or up to 30 scouts for $35. Each scout types the code on their own computer and gets their own certificate, and the leader's pack page shows who has started and finished.

Is this an official Girl Scouts product?

No. MYTEK Lab makes the kit, and Girl Scouts badge names and steps are used with permission of Girl Scouts of the USA. The troop leader awards the badge; the certificate shows the scout did the work, with a number the leader can check.

All badge kits · Find kits and certificates you bought

Girl Scouts badge names and steps are used with permission of Girl Scouts of the USA. This kit is made by MYTEK Lab; the badge is awarded by the troop.