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Sending a rocket to Mars: programming challenges

Beginner robot Difficulty 1/5 Screen-free lesson Stop 4 / 34 ages 8-10

Programming challenges (Scratch, Python or blocks) to go with the 'Sending a rocket to Mars' lesson, from the 'Kidbots' unit. Best done with a grown-up.

For a grown-up to do with a child.

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Your guide

AI-written overview

What is it?

Sending a rocket to Mars: programming challenges is part of a CS Unplugged unit about giving clear instructions to a robot, like a toy bot or a friend pretending to be one. You learn what a program is by writing one for a friend to follow.

Is it for me?

It is for children about 8-10 and up who like moving around and giving or following instructions. You do not need a computer. It is a Beginner activity to do with a grown-up or teacher.

Grown-ups: bugs are good. Praise finding and fixing mistakes, not only getting it right the first time.

How to start

  1. Make a grid on the floor with tape or chalk.
  2. Choose who is the programmer and who is the robot, and agree on simple commands.
  3. Write the program, run it, and fix any mistakes you find.

How much time?

Most lessons take 30 to 45 minutes. Plan about 25 minutes for a session. (estimate)

25 min per session 3 sessions estimate

A plan you can follow

  1. Day 1 30 min Be the robot and follow a friend's instructions.
  2. Day 2 30 min Write a longer program for a new route.
  3. Week 1 45 min Add a rule and find the bugs.
  4. Week 2 30 min Teach someone else the game.

Times are estimates. Go at your own speed.

Go to the learning site

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Go to the learning site (opens the original site in a new tab)

https://www.csunplugged.org/en/topics/kidbots/sending-a-rocket-to-mars/programming/

On this site. From the list: uccser/cs-unplugged · License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 · CS Unplugged: Kidbots

Lesson from CS Unplugged, University of Canterbury CSER Group, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes were made: translated and level-tagged by Open Cosmos, with AI. Shared under the same license.

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