The school year

The CARDBOTICS syllabus

A school year of 30 weekly sessions. Kids build cardboard robots with their own hands, program them with blocks, test them in a 3D simulator, and run the very same program on the real robot. Every robot goes home with them.

For schools and partners For parents

Bring it to your school

3 tracksBy age: 8–10, 10–12 and 12–14

30 sessionsOnce a week, 60 minutes, through the school year

Up to 15 kidsPer group. Every kid builds and codes on their own

6 robotsPer track, each teaching a different engineering principle

Every robot goes homeKids keep what they build

No experience neededEvery track starts from zero

What kids take from the year

Program goals

Thinking like an engineerEvery robot senses, thinks and acts. Kids learn to spot those three stages in their robot and in the world around them.
Real coding concepts, step by stepSequences, loops, conditions, sensor input, and in the older tracks also functions, calibration and robots talking to each other.
Hands-on mechanicsServo motors, wheels, legs, a propeller and levers. Every robot in the year moves in a different way.
Persistence and debuggingThe real robot doesn't always do what the simulator showed. Kids find out why, fix it and try again.
Teamwork and presentingEvery block ends with a competition and a challenge, and every kid presents the robot and the code to the parents.

One robot

Five sessions per robot

Each robot is a block of five sessions, always in the same structure. Every session has exercises every kid completes, and extra challenges for those who move fast.

Sessions 1–2Meet & build

A new concept, building the robot and calibrating it

Session 3Simulator to robot

Program in the simulator, then move to the physical robot

Session 4The Nerdery

A deep dive into the code: what really happens, with the same program in MakeCode

Session 5Challenge & show

Tweaking the code, a competition, a challenge, and a show for the parents

30 sessions

The year

The year has 6 blocks of 5 sessions. In each block kids build one robot, learn one concept through it, and finish with a competition, a challenge and a show for the parents. In the first robot's sessions 1–2 they also meet the micro:bit, upload a first program, and see the year's six robots.

Semester 1

Semester 2

1–5Block 1

6–10Block 2

11–15Block 3

16–20Block 4

21–25Block 5

26–30Block 6

In every session

Challenge of the week: a small task that is always open to whoever finishes early.
Teacher for a minute: a kid who finished helps another table.
A short recap at the start of a concept from an earlier block, through the current robot.

What parents see

A personal report twice a semester: which robots were built, which challenges were solved and which concepts were learned.
A show at the end of every block (session 5): every kid presents and runs the robot.
A final tournament with the parents.

Six robots per track

What each track learns

Ages 8–10

The first step

The year's thread: a robot is something that senses, thinks and acts. Kids code with blocks and use the micro:bit's built-in senses: buttons, light, tilt and temperature.

Block	Robot	What kids learn	End event
1	The first robotSessions 1–5	Sequence. The robot does exactly what we wrote, in order. In the first two sessions kids also meet the micro:bit and upload a first program.	Opening show: everyone presents their robot
2	LED petSessions 6–10	Loop. Something that repeats: blinking, rhythm, and reacting to light or temperature.	Night mode: lights off, and all the pets glow together
3	Dog & unicornSessions 11–15	Motor and angle. A servo motor moves to a set position. Two buttons, two moves.	A timed dance of the whole class to the same music
4	HelicopterSessions 16–20	Continuous input. Not just on or off: a changing value sets the rotor's speed.	Take-off parade: one countdown for all the helicopters
5	WhaleSessions 21–25	Condition. If something happens, the robot does something: the jaw opens and closes, the tail swims.	Feeding the whales: a group game
6	Crawling crabSessions 26–30	Complex movement. Several moves in sync, and a walking pattern packed into one action.	A crab race and "the wave": a chain reaction of all the year's robots

Ages 10–12

Robot engineers

The year's thread: code is exact, the world isn't. The same program gives a different result on another robot, so kids measure, calibrate and fix. Mid-year they learn to pack a repeated action into a named "box", like a function in programming.

Block	Robot	What kids learn	End event
1	Robot carSessions 1–5	Driving, turning and calibration. Drive an exact distance, turn, and find out you have to try, measure and fix.	A race and an obstacle course against the clock
2	PlaneSessions 6–10	Analog input. The wing angle becomes the propeller's speed. A take-off, flight and landing sequence.	A stability contest: who holds the angle longest
3	Walking dogSessions 11–15	Function. One step becomes a box called "step", and from there a routine: sit, stand up, turn around.	A dog parade with a shared choreography
4	ForkliftSessions 16–20	Action sequence. Lift, drive, lower. A stack of three cubes with the same box.	Forklift battle: who moves more cubes in 60 seconds
5	Mini sumoSessions 21–25	A sensor that decides in real time. Find the opponent, push, and stay inside the ring.	A sumo tournament and robot soccer
6	Ball liftSessions 26–30	Queue and state. The system remembers what was requested and stops at the right floor.	"The warehouse": three kids, three robots, one package

Ages 12–14

AI robotics

The year's thread: smart systems make mistakes. The robots get advanced sensors and a camera, and the task is not only to make it work but to find when and why it fails. In some missions two robots work together and pass messages to each other.

Block	Robot	What kids learn	End event
1	Advanced carSessions 1–5	Distance sensor. Stopping before an obstacle, automatic parking, and a long route built from sub-routines.	An obstacle course against the clock
2	Automatic gateSessions 6–10	Computer vision. The gate recognizes a car, and sometimes gets it wrong. Kids discuss what a trained model is and what a false detection is.	Gate and car work together: the car asks, the gate answers
3	Color sorterSessions 11–15	Classification. Sorting colors into categories, and seeing how lighting and the quality of the examples change the result.	A sorting center
4	Face-tracking headSessions 16–20	Control loop. A head on two motors and a camera that follows faces and reacts.	A "do as I do" contest
5	TelepresenceSessions 21–25	Remote control. Driving by video, Bluetooth communication, and network delay.	A blind course: the driver is in another room
6	Line followerSessions 26–30	Autonomy. No remote and no pre-programmed route: only sensors and a correction loop.	"The unbroken line": three robots in one chain

No surprises

What kids work with

A micro:bit v2 with a Ring:bit expansion board, servo motors and an LED.
Pre-cut cardboard parts for every robot, with screws and nuts.
Every robot goes home.

A 3D simulator for the whole year. It runs in the browser, on Android phones and tablets, Chromebooks and computers, and also without internet. The app is in Hebrew today; an English version is in development.
A bank of 136 challenges at different levels.
Events: a competition and a show for the parents at the end of every block, and a final tournament.

Safety

Everything runs on low-voltage batteries. The cardboard parts come pre-cut, and the classroom tools are age-appropriate.

Joining during the year

Kids can join up to the fourth session, space permitting, with a short catch-up session. Kids with significant experience can move up a track after a short talk.

For schools and partners

What a school needs to run it

A classroom with tables for 15 kids, and free floor space for running the robots and the tournaments.
Power outlets near the tables.
A place to store the equipment box between sessions.

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