When I saw BOTZEES at Toy Fair New York 2020 I fell in love. I named it as one of my top 2020 toys of the year. BOTZEES is a STEM TOY, a robotic coding kit for kids. It includes 130 blocks for construction and building. It pairs with an app for integrated play. I was super happy to receive one in exchange for an honest review. Read on to see what we thought. I will give a hint, my kids could not put it down.
This post contains affiliate links.
This post contains affiliate links.
The BOTZEES kit come with 130 interlocking blocks, including two sets of tires. 3 of the blocks have special functions. One is a main control block, another the ultrasonic sensor block (the eyes), and the other is a digital servo block. It also comes with a USB cable to charge the main control block. There is also a sticker sheet with eye expressions. These can be put on circular blocks. An instruction manual is not included in the box, but the link for the manual is.
BOTZEES: How Does It Work?
The BOTZEES kit needs to be paired with an app. There is a power button on the main control block. Once that is turned on it will pair with a device. We paired it with our iPad. It synced up right away. Once in the app there are 4 areas to choose from, BUILD, CODE, CONTROL OR PLAY.
BUILD
The build mode has 6 characters to choose from. The character below is the most simple build. The instructions are easy to follow.
My kids built it together and did not fight!
Here is our finished product. I am IN LOVE with the eyes if I have not said that already.
Objects
CODE
The code portion of the app lets children code the robot. Some of the coding includes functions for movement; right, left, back/forward, straight, backward, robot sounds, guitar sounds, drums, piano, note, light on robot, blue, red, purple, motion sensor control, AR dancing, shake head, and loop. These programming functions can be combined in many different ways. The codes are dragged into the bottom line and fit together like puzzle pieces. Once the line is full no more pieces can be added. At this time only 6 coding blocks can be added. The play button is then pushed to have the robot start the program.
PLAY
This was my kids favorite section. The kids had to collect pieces and help the robot. They had to search the room for various pieces. While they were doing this they were learning programming functions for the robot.
BOTZEES: What Did We Think?
The BOTZEES kit needs to be paired with an app. There is a power button on the main control block. Once that is turned on it will pair with a device. We paired it with our iPad. It synced up right away. Once in the app there are 4 areas to choose from, BUILD, CODE, CONTROL OR PLAY.
The build mode has 6 characters to choose from. The character below is the most simple build. The instructions are easy to follow.
Here are all the different items that can be built.
Characters
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The code portion of the app lets children code the robot. Some of the coding includes functions for movement; right, left, back/forward, straight, backward, robot sounds, guitar sounds, drums, piano, note, light on robot, blue, red, purple, motion sensor control, AR dancing, shake head, and loop. These programming functions can be combined in many different ways. The codes are dragged into the bottom line and fit together like puzzle pieces. Once the line is full no more pieces can be added. At this time only 6 coding blocks can be added. The play button is then pushed to have the robot start the program.
This was my kids favorite section. The kids had to collect pieces and help the robot. They had to search the room for various pieces. While they were doing this they were learning programming functions for the robot.
CONTROL
The control mode includes three areas to control. The robot can move backwards and forwards, it can pivot or turn, and the speed can be adjusted (the - and + symbols below).
Overall my kids LOVED BOTZEES. Like many in the United States our schools are closed. This review could not have come at a better time. We are trying to do home school while school is out. I got this out the first day for STEM time. They played with it for a long time that day and every chance they got free time after that.
The only thing I would suggest is to have the ability to have more coding blocks in the coding section of the app. That is something that could be changed within the app pretty easily.
Another random cool thing we noticed is once the blue tooth was turned on the sound coming out of the iPad came out of the robot. There are sounds within the app. But when the app is over the robot can still be paired. It can play favorite music, read stories to the kids, the possibilities are endless!
The only thing I would suggest is to have the ability to have more coding blocks in the coding section of the app. That is something that could be changed within the app pretty easily.
Another random cool thing we noticed is once the blue tooth was turned on the sound coming out of the iPad came out of the robot. There are sounds within the app. But when the app is over the robot can still be paired. It can play favorite music, read stories to the kids, the possibilities are endless!
I like this toy because it combines education and play at the same time. The kids (1) build the robot. They can build 6 different characters or come up with one themselves. The kids (2) play an interactive game that teaches them about coding. The kids (3) have a space to code the robot to do whatever they want. And lastly (4) the control mode is super fun and a little bit like a remote control. But better. And lastly (5) the robot is super cute. The eyes give it a personality. My almost 2 year old daughter follows my kids around when they are playing with the robot and gets a kick out of the fact it can move around.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone that is interested in STEM toys for their kids. It stays at the top of my 2020 best toys of the year! Here is a link on Amazon to get it!
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