This page is a collection of robotics challenges to help give instructors ideas of what to ask the youth to program their robot to do.  Each challenge was written for the instructor and includes an overview of the challenge, objectives, level of difficulty rating, preparation & materials needed, pictures and schematics of any challenge mats, procedure for programming steps with pictorial programming guide, discussion questions,  and rubric to assess for competition if desired.

The full pictorial programming guide can be given to youth directly, however this in only recommended if the instructor has very little time for the session, for instance, if the program is a marketing event for a robotics camp or club project. It might also be helpful to give youth the full programming guide for the first activity as part of a longer session. In this instance, the instructor should take time for the group to discuss each programming block and the variables associated with the programming, since the youth will not develop this understanding by using the complete pictorial guide alone. In most cases, the instructor will use the text only or a subset of the abbreviated programming guide.

The abbreviated and complete pictorial guides provide examples of solutions to complete the challenges. It is important to remember that there are multiple ways to successfully complete challenges and youth are encouraged to be creative with their programming. It is also important to recognize that the numbers for duration, etc. provided within the complete pictorial guide are estimates. The robot will perform differently under different conditions. Examples of performance variables are described in the Distance and Turns instructor guide.

Challenges in order of level of difficulty:
1. Four Bricks Forward
2. Have a Nice Day
3. Distance and Turns
4. X Marks the Spot
5. Magic Touch
6. Dancing Bot
7. Cliffhanger
8. Breakfast Bot
9. GOAL!