{Botley was gifted to us for the purposes of this review and giveaway, thoughts are my own and honest}
Meet Botley, the screen-free coding robot that my kids have come to love. It’s cute, simple to operate and a great alternative to programming apps and games that require screen time or internet usage.
Unboxing Botley – What’s in the box?
Included in the box when Botley first arrives, you’ll get:
- Botley the Coding Robot
- Remote programmer
- Detachable robot arms
- 40 Coding cards
- 6 Double-sided tiles
- 27 Obstacle building pieces
- Started guide with coding challenges
Our First Impressions of Botley the Coding Robot
All three of my children were super curious and excited to get into the box, the little peep window adds to the excitement.
Botley is small and cute. It looks and acts a little like a remote control toy and I guess in a way it is but it does a lot more. I did see somewhere in the packaging that it is ready to use straight from the box but actually is does need batteries that are not included. (You’ll need 5 AAA in total). It’s aimed at the 5+ age group and I think that’s probably about right. It introduces basic coding language such as programming, loop, if/then and so on.
Botley has 4 small coloured lights and a button on top, the lights correspond to its actions. It talks, it can detect objects in front of it and had soft rubbery wheels that help it grip the floor (it works better on hard or smooth floors rather than carpet) I love that there is no screen involved. We’ve done other coding challenges and lessons which have required internet use and computers but this doesn’t need any of that.
What does Botley do?
Botley is a great introduction to coding concepts. There are two functions which you can choose from by sliding the switch underneath – Line or Code.
The Line option is fairly self-explanatory in that it follows a black line. The 6 double-sided puzzle shaped boards fit together and one side of them is white with a black line. Just put the pieces together and place Botley anywhere along the line and it will follow it along, round and round. Even if it comes to the end it will turn round and carry on again.
The Code option is slightly more in-depth.
You start by pressing a sequence of instructions for Botley to follow – For example if you press the forward green arrow, then the blue right turn arrow and then the forward green arrow again, and then ‘send’ that program to Botley, it will flash its lights to say its instruction is received, and then move forward, turn to the right and move forward again.
You can send a sequence of up to 100 steps so your child can certainly build up the instructions as they advance.
To practice these steps, we used the sticks and cubes to make a small maze and Dexter tried to make Botley push a ball through to the goal. We used the coding cards to help him keep track of the steps.
I LOVED the trial and error aspect of this and watching him figure it out and keep persevering until he got it. ( You can see this on my instastories if you want to look)
In the instruction booklet, there are a few easter eggs for you to try out such as making Botley say ‘Wheeeee’ or make it dizzy. It also gives you challenges that introduce you to more coding concepts such as ‘if/then’ (‘if’ an object is in its way, ‘then’ do these steps) and ‘loop’ (where certain parts of a program can be looped or repeated.
It’s worth keeping hold of the instruction booklet to refer back to and to practice the different challenges.
Who is Botley aimed at?
Botley is aimed at a target age group of 5+
Paisley has not long turned 4 and she enjoys using some of the less complicated challenges. I would suggest that depending of course on the child in question, 4-8 years is a good age group.
At the time of writing, Botley is available from Learning Resources directly for the cost of £79
Botley the Coding Robot: A Summary
Cute, screen-free coding toy, friendly features and easy to use. Good size controller, well made. Botley is suitable for 5+ years and is a fantastic product for basic coding activities such as following a black line, following instructions, object detection and performing loops.
Any negatives..?
I think the motor could be a little more powerful. Even with brand new batteries, it’s not great on carpet.
Also, perhaps instead of the challenges being in the instruction booklet, they could have been printed on to laminated ‘lesson cards’ to work through – But I’m sure I could probably put something together myself like that.
Botley’s Crashin’ Construction Set
Along with our Botley, the kind people at Learning Resources also sent us one of their brand new Botley accessories.
The crashin’ construction set contains scoop, crane and wrecking ball attachments along with a signpost and a few crates for your child to create their own challenges. My three love using the wrecking ball to knock down towers.
Win your own Botley and Crashin’ Construction Set
As part of this review, Learning Resources are giving you the opportunity to win your very own Botley!
Not only that, but they’re also throwing in a Crashin’ Construction Set too!
There are lots of ways to enter using the gleam form below. If you want to use the option to enter by leaving a comment, I have a few suggestions or prompts you could use…
Why not tell me who you would like to win this for. Or why STEM education is important. Perhaps you could let me know your child’s STEM hero or what your favourite Learning Resources toy is (if you have any)
Good luck, I look forward to announcing the winner soon!
Botley the Coding Robot and Crashin' Construction Set
This giveaway is to win Botley the Coding Robot and Botley’s Crashin’ Construction Set
Giveaway will run from Monday 17th February 2020. Giveaway closes 11:59 PM, UK time on Saturday 29th Feb
The Giveaway is open to UK residents only.
The prize will not be shipped to non-UK addresses.
The winner will be selected at random by Gleam and contacted in due course.
The winner will need to reply within a reasonable amount of time with the correct information needed for shipping the prize. Failure to do so will result in their prize being void and a new winner selected.
Information gathered via entry will only be used for the purposes of this giveaway and will not be passed on to any third parties.
No purchase necessary.
131 Comments
I would love to win for my little niece please! Sounds perfect for her curious little brain!
I would love to win for my son who is about to turn 5. I have been looking at all types of STEM toys for his birthday. My favourite are coding critters and Botley the coding robot.
Great Review… Very informative!
I’ve been wanting Botley ever since he came out so it would be wonderful to win him
Thanks so much for the giveaway!
Haha, I had my eye on him for a while too! Good luck
I want to win this for my daughter who is an early years teacher in a small infant school. It would be a great resource for the children in her class to help them with their learning.
Lovely idea! Good luck
I would love to win this for my 5 year old grandson. He really needs to be challenged to keep him out of mischief!
Hahahaha Don’t they all!? Good Luck!
My granddaughter is a bright 5 year old and I see coding will be an essential skill for her future.
I would love this for my grandson Alexander, he would find it very interesting
I would love to win this for my nearly 5 year old son. I think he would love playing with it and learning lots too.
Nice review! Would love one to have a play with.
Good luck!
My grandson would love this
We’re STEM-mad (or just mad?!) in our house and with a 6YO and a 4YO, Botley would be a fantastic way to introduce them to coding concepts.
Yes! My 6 and 4 years olds both love it. Good Luck!
It would be a great gift to keep my son occupied. Looking forward.
this would be perfect for my nephews
It would be for our youngest who is just starting exploring how toys work as well as playing with them.
Fantastic, good luck
This would be a great thing for me and my eldest to do together!
Good luck!
I would love to win for my son
I think he would love it
I would love to win this for my 5 year old daughter, she could learn so much!
I would love to win this for my nephew.
My youngest is just starting coding at school, mind you I think I need Botley to help me understand as well, nothing ever seems the same at schools my second child is 2 years ahead but even in this short time everythings moved on, barmy how do parents keep up
It changes so quickly doesn’t it?! Good luck
This looks like a great toy. We love STEM here too. My daughter loves coding.
Awesome! Good Luck!
Would like to win for my son. He’s interested in coding.
It would be fab for my 6 year old nephew who is just starting to develop a real interest in gaming and computers. I really see coding and computer literacy as essential skills for the future so what better way to introduce it than through play.
Absolutely – and it’s brilliant to have toys that grab their interests from the start! Good luck
I love STEM toys for my daughter, its a fun way to get them thinking.
I would love this for my Grandson, he would enjoy using this
My wee boy is 4 and just loves robots he would love to learn how to use Botley we also like coding critters
I’ve had a few different things from learning resources and they’re all fantastic. Coding robots are fab – we had a roomba at school and it was the most fun days when we got to play with it!
Oh Wow! We never had anything like that when I was at school. Good Luck
I would like to win for my daughter.
My nephew would be thrilled Thankyou Great )learning fun and pay
I would love this for my daughter (nearly 4), niece (7) and nephew (12). As a woman in research and development having studied engineering I would love to be able to help them love STEM subjects too in such an engaging way.
Love the review!
Exciting stuff! Good luck!
I’d love to win this for my twin girls as they’re very interested in how things work
My nephew would love this and it looks educational as well. Thanks for the competition.
I would like this for Grandson 2, he is autistic & can have trouble relating to people but loves computer stuff.
We love learning resources toys. Recently bought my son Gears Gears Gears! It’s an excellent toy teaching cause and effect , pattern recognition, colour, etc…
Ohh that sounds fab! Good luck
i would love to win this for my youngest son x
I would love to win for my granddaughter, coding is such an important skill nowadays that it would be great for her to learn as well as have fun
I would love to win for my Granddaughter. It’s so important to keep up to date with all these new teaching methods and STEM make it fun.
For my 4 year old daughter – she loves this kind of toy and, as a girl, I’d like to encourage her into STEM.
Yes! Can’t love this comment more. More girls in STEM
Good Luck
I’m trying to win this for my six year old son. I think coding is something that’s completely new to him so this seems like a really fun introduction.
I would love to win this for my nephew!
I’d love to win this for the child I work with who has SEN. It would be a fab interactive way for him to learn coding
I would like to win for my niece
Coding is such an important skill now and think this would be a fantastic way to encourage fun learning!
My nephew, he loves to build to things but he would absolutely love having the knowledge to “make a toy work” – I think these things are great at breaking down compicated ideas!
For my Friends Son Rio, 3, I think it sets them up for how the world is/will work in the very near future
I would love to win this for my daughter – and my husband! He’s desperate to teach her coding so this will be a gentle intro for the two of them (she’s a little young but sure she’ll love being with Daddy nonetheless). Here’s hoping – it would keep both of my two occupied!
Hahaha that sounds brilliant! Good luck
Would love to win this for my granddaughter
These sound interesting, I’m sure my grandson would love it
would love to win for my granddaughter
This looks fab! We love Learning Resources and have quite a few of their toys. My 4 year old loves their design and drill and my 8 year old loves their magnetic marble run!
Those both sound brilliant fun! Good Luck!
I love encouraging my little ones to learn in fun ways and this ticks that box
I would love to win this for my nephew. I might even have a go myself as having to learn code myself after my job changed
Love for my nephew- learning through FUN and play -always a winner
My daughter would love this – she loves examining things and playing with numbers – she’s getting better every day! We love board games and puzzles xx
When I hear the name STEM, I think of highly inspirational and educational products, my little girl would learn so much from Botley xx
I want to win this for my daughter! would be great for her x
My god son it would be fabulous
I would really love to win this for my nephew, his uncle is a coder so this would be a great start to ‘helping’ uncle.
We haven’t had any stem products before but would like to try it out. I would love to win this for my daughter as I think she could benefit from it xx
My daughter is very STEM minded – always collecting boxes to build things, totally fascinated by space and asks a million and one questions about all things sciency! This robot would blow her mind.
would love to win this for my grandson bertie he would find it very interesting
i would love this for my son, hes always been interested in stem toys x
This looks brilliant. You are never too young to learn coding
I’d like to win it for my 6 year old son, he’s just started getting in to coding which is so important as I’m sure lots of jobs in the future will require this skill
I would love this for my neice – we are are a family of stem fanatics and I want to get her on board too!!!
Would love to win this for my Grandson, he has a very enquiring mindand would get a lot of pleasure from this, like all stem toys, great for learning
I’d love to win for my grand-daughter, she has just started a coding c;ass at our local HUB
I remember having something similar to this many, many years ago in nursery school! I’ve got a niece who would absolutely love it. If she can prise it out of my hands.
My Nephew would love this!
What a great review.. I have been looking at these for my daughter 🙂
this sounds like fun and educational , the grandchildren would love it
My son would love this – he loves coding!
I have five grandchildren who love to play at my home and this would be great to get them thinking!
would love to win for my twin boys, they would love this
I think my son would love something like this
Looks fun!
My son would enjoy playing with this and working it out 🙂
I would love to win this for my granddaughter Lily she would love it xx
My granddaughter keeps on that she wants Botley the Robot
My sons would both love this!
i am always looking for ways to entertain my grandkids, especially educational orientated, so i would appreciate this prize x
I would love to win for my nephew, he’s nearly 5 and very curious
I think my niece would love this!
I would like to win this for my nephew who would love it and figuring out how it works.
I’d love to win this for my daughter’s class. She’s a reception teacher in an infant school and the kids would really benefit from this amazing set
My little sister would love this they have something similar at school and she’s always asking if we can get one
Id love to win for my daughter, she turns 4 in March and i think this is super educational for her
I would give this to my Brother as he is just started learning a little bit about coding this looks like something that would help and also be fun for him.
I’d love to win this for my two youngest grandsons.
Developing inquiring minds is so important our education system is still based on the Times of the industrial revolution when we were educating our children to do factory work. I’d love this for my 7 year old twins
Sad but true. Good luck
i want my daughter to grow up knowing that all options career and hobby wise are just as available to her as to anyone else
YEssss!!! Good luck!
My friend’s little one so he can amuse himself while she recovers.
I’d love this for my niece Holly.
My grandson has just started to do coding at School I think this would be great for him
Botley the robot looks like a fab way to help my niece and nephews develop their STEM skills, it’s a super way for them to learn through play.
I would love to win this for my little girl. I think it would teach me about coding too because I haven’t got a clue.
I would love to win this for my daughter. My husband is a robotics engineer and my daughter would love her very own robot. xx
I would give to my daughter Sheriah 7 my son would probably like to have a look too he’s 3
I’d love to win this for my youngest daughter, i work in IT and this looks a great way to get her interested!
I would really love to win this for my nephew – he would love it
I would love this for my granddaughter. I’ve heard of Botley the Robot for a wee while and now she is 5 I think this would be perfect for her.
I would love to win for my nephew. He would adore it. Thankyou x
I would love this for my 3 children, STEM is so important.
Perfect for my neice x
I would love to win, my 5 yr old son asked for Botley for christmas and he really wants the crashing construction set when I showed him a video of it when it came out recently. Im a school governor with links to the STEM areas,as well as PTA, so if my name is lucky enough to be pulled out of the hat I would donate Botley to the infants school. (My son would gladly teach all the other children how to use him). Im passionate about STEM and love the fact this teaches coding in a way that seems to really engage younger children.
Oh, what a lovely idea. Good luck
My daughter wants to be a scientist, I love inspiring her with new STEM activities. Tomorrow we’re doing coke and mentoes as she’s been studying volcanoes in school.
Such fun! I’ve done this with my oldest but will have to do it again now my girls are a bit older.
Good luck
my nephew has asked for one for his birthday be great if i could win one for him
I would love to win this for my Nephews birthday, he would be thrilled with it x
would love to win for my daughter x
My grand daughter would be delighted with this
My 5 year old daughter would love this. She loves STEM learning at school so this would definitely appeal to her.
I wouldlove to win for my daughter. She loves those project MC2 girls and is very curious about STEM.