Cool 6 in 1 Robot Kit

When you first open the 6 in 1 Educational Solar Kit, you’ll find a lot of pieces, mostly plastic, that you have to cut apart. The box states “no tools required” which is true, but separating the pieces was a lot easier with wire cutters. The plastic parts are well made and fit together nicely. It was a bit of a surprise to find that you have to assemble the main components (gearbox and solar cell pod) before you can build the various toys.

Once you have those two things done and all your pieces separated, you can get to work on the toys! The directions are almost completely illustrated and very easy to follow, and once you get the hang of it the creations go together pretty quickly.

The car model is easy to assemble, and really shows how a small car can be constructed to run along the ground powered only by the freely available sun. In the past a small electric car would have required a steady investment in batteries.

The car is a great tool to show that not only is it economical (no batteries to buy), but it removes the dependency on batteries. That is, even if buying batteries was of no concern, you might find yourself out of power just when you need it most and could not make a battery run. That dependency, not only being costly, is a weakness that could make the difference between going or not.

The boat is fun since it mixes the fun of a hands on experiment with getting wet, another fun activity that he seems to enjoy. The boat is driven by a solar powered fan, and if so inclined, you can sneak in a small science lesson about direct wind power vehicles.

The solar windmill is a great way to show how we can be cooled off by using solar energy. Why do you need to sit in an air conditioned room when a solar solution can cool you off exactly when you need it most – under a nice bright sun. It is a perfect match of need and existing conditions.

The 6 in 1 Educational Solar Kit is a fun gizmo that teaches kids about solar energy as well as basic mechanical assembly. A 10 year old would be able to do most of it alone, but even for the younger set it’s fun and provides a lot of discussion opportunities.

Filed Under: Technology & Science