• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • TOOLS
  • DOWNLOAD EBOOKS
  • » FREE GUIDE «

Maker Advisor

Best Tools and Gear for Makers

Best Educational Robot Kits for Kids and Teens

December 5, 2018 By Sara Santos

Building robots is a great way to learn about mechanics, electronics, programming and other important scientific concepts, while having fun along the way. If you’re looking for a great gift to give to your children, grandchildren or nephews, a robot kit is just perfect (everybody loves robots!). In this article, we’ve put together some of the best educational robot kits for kids and teens – there are different options for all budgets.

If you’re thinking about grabbing one of these robot kits for a Christmas gift, please pay attention to the delivery date. Some may arrive after Christmas.

Robots Kits Comparison Table

Here’s a list that quickly compares our choices of robots kits.

Continue reading this post for a more detailed analysis of each robot kit.

Figure
Name
Links
No. of pieces
Programmable
Age
Salt Powered Robot Kit
Banggood
15
x
+8
DIY Smart Tracking Robot Car
Banggood
37
x
+10
Micro:bot Pack
Amazon.com
12
✓
+11
Elegoo Smart Robot Car Kit V 3.0 with Arduino
Amazon.com
30
(+ nuts and bolts)
✓
+12
Makeblock mBot Robot Kit
Amazon.com
25
(+ nuts and bolts)
✓
+8
Smart Machines Rovers and Vehicles
Amazon.com
230
✓
+8
LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox
Amazon.com
847
✓
+7

Best Robot Kits for Kids and Teens

DIY Assembly Salt Water Powered Robot Kit

DIY Assembly Salt Water Powered Robot Kit

★★★★★
$7.70
$5.99
 out of stock
BUY NOW
Banggood.com
as of May 25, 2025 12:03 pm

Recommended age: >8 years

This kit comes with all the pieces to build a small robot that is powered with salty water. This small little robot is powered by the chemical reaction of salt water with Magnesium metal sheets (the kit includes 3 Magnesium sheets). The Magnesium metal sheet is a consumable item and they claim that one sheet is able to drive the robot for 4 hours continuously.

After building the robot, you just have to add drops of saturated salty water (brine) to make the robot move. Kids (and also grown-ups) will love it!


DIY Smart Tracking Robot Car

DIY Smart Tracking Robot Car

★★★★★
$7.99  out of stock
BUY NOW
Banggood.com
as of May 25, 2025 12:03 pm

Recommended age: >10 years (requires soldering)

This kit comes with everything you need to build a smart robot that follows a track using a light dependent resistor. You can laid down your own tracks using black electrical tape and test your robot cleverness. This kit is a great way to learn and teach about robotics and electronics. The kit requires soldering, but it is not difficult to assemble at all. Building this toy will be a lot of fun, not just for kids but also for adults.

You may also like: Best Soldering Irons for Beginners and Hobbyists


Tech Will Save Us, Micro:bot Pack | Coding games for kids

Tech Will Save Us, Micro:bot Pack | Coding games for kids

 out of stock
BUY NOW
Amazon.com

Recommended age: 11 – 18 years

This robot kit comes with the BBC micro:bit. The micro:bit is a pocket-sized computer and it is a great way to get kids interested in coding and electronics. It can be programmed with drag-n-drop coding blocks, so it is intuitive for kids to getting started. The kit comes with some hardware to build three different robots, and they provide the code to make them work. Additionally, kids can also create their own apps and add other special features to their robots by modifying the code themselves.

They also provide access to a platform with dozens of projects that kids can follow to build different things. The micro:bit has many applications and you can get other electronics components and add enhanced hardware features to the robot or create other gadgets.

There is other robot kit for micro:bit that includes more parts and allows you to do more creations. However, it doesn’t include the micro:bit board. If you’re interested in this kit, make sure you buy a micro:bit separately.

Smart Robot Car Kit for Micro:bit BBC (without Micro:bit Board)
Smart Robot Car Kit for Micro:bit BBC (without Micro:bit Board)
Smart Robot Car Kit for Micro:bit BBC (without Micro:bit Board)
$52.99
in stock
2 new from $52.99
as of May 25, 2025 11:04 pm
BUY NOW
Amazon.com
Micro:bit BBC Micro-Controller
Micro:bit BBC Micro-Controller
Micro:bit BBC Micro-Controller
out of stock
BUY NOW
Amazon.com

You may also like: Best Raspberry Pi Retro Gaming Kits


ELEGOO UNO Project Smart Robot Car Kit V 3.0 with Arduino UNO R3 clone

ELEGOO UNO Project Smart Robot Car Kit V 3.0 with Arduino UNO R3 clone

$79.99  in stock
2 new from $79.99
Free shipping
BUY NOW
Amazon.com
as of May 25, 2025 11:04 pm

Recommended age: >12 years (also recommended for grown-ups)

This is an educational robot kit based on the Arduino UNO microcontroller board. It brings all the hardware parts and instructions to build a robot with the following characteristics: obstacle avoidance, remote controlled (via Bluetooth and via IR remote), line tracking and much more.

This robot kit is a great way to learn electronics and programming with Arduino. However, if you’re more into learn about creating gadgets with Arduino and learn step-by-step how things work, we recommend getting an Arduino Starter Kit. It can also be a good Christmas gift. Find the Best Arduino Starter Kit for your needs here.

You may also like: Awesome Robot Kits for Arduino


Makeblock mBot Robot Kit, DIY Mechanical Building Block

Makeblock mBot Robot Kit, DIY Mechanical Building Block

$88.99
$75.63
 in stock
BUY NOW
Amazon.com
as of May 25, 2025 11:04 pm

Recommended age: > 8 years

The Makeblock mBot robot is great for STEM education. Its assembly can be done within 15 minutes by following the instructions. There are add-on parts you can get to design and build your own creations.

The coding is done with the Blocky App. It allows you to program the robot with drag-n-drop colorful logic blocks. This is a great way to start learning entry-level coding skills. A great thing about the application is that it has challenges and games for kids to learn while having fun along the way.

You may also like: Best Arduino Books For Kids


Thames & Kosmos Robotics: Smart Machines Rovers and Vehicles

Thames & Kosmos Robotics: Smart Machines Rovers and Vehicles

$89.99
$80.87
 in stock
BUY NOW
Amazon.com
as of May 25, 2025 11:04 pm

Recommended age: > 8 years

This kit comes with everything you need to build 8 motorized machines (wheeled robots) with an ultrasound sensor. After building the robot, kids can create programs based on the feedback of the ultrasonic sensor to control the robot.

The programs are built using an easy and visual programming app. Kids can built their own programs or use the demos already available. The app can be used with iOs and Android devices and they need a wireless Bluetooth connection to communicate with the robot. It also includes a step-by-step full color manual to help kids in the assembling process.


LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox 17101 Fun Robot Building Set and Educational Coding Kit for Kids, Award-Winning STEM Learning Toy (847 Pieces)

LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox 17101 Fun Robot Building Set and Educational Coding Kit for Kids, Award-Winning STEM Learning Toy (847 Pieces)

$374.00  in stock
4 new from $374.00
BUY NOW
Amazon.com
as of May 25, 2025 11:04 pm

Recommended age: > 7 years

This kit from LEGO is just amazing! It comes with 847 pieces including color, distance, and tilt sensors to build and rebuild 5 different robots. The robots include: a dancing robot, a guitar, an interactive cat, an autobuilder and a Multi-Tooled Rover 4. Instructions for the different models are included for free with the LEGO boost app.

This is an award-winning toy, and it is definitely one of the coolest gifts for kids and teens that love to tinker and build stuff. The robots can be programmed using the LEGO BOOST app that uses easy visual blocks programming.


Wrapping Up

In this article we’ve shown several different robot kits that kids and teens will love (grown-ups also will). Giving one of these kits to your kids is a great way to keep them interested in robotics, coding, and DIY stuff (I wish I had one of those when I was a kid. In fact, I would love to have one of these now!). Additionally, parents can also learn about robotics, programming, and electronics when helping their children in the assembling process.

Programmable robots are the most interesting, because you can program their behavior and learn a lot about coding. However, these are also the most expensive (some are really expensive). If you can’t afford such robot, you can start with a non-programmable robot, or you can get an Arduino starter kit to start learning about programming and electronics and build robots and other gadgets.

If you’re looking for a gift for your maker friends, we have some articles that may help you out:

  • Ultimate Gift List for Makers, Electronics Hobbyists, and DIYers
  • 10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Makers
  • DIY Kits are always a great option:
    • 7 DIY LED Kits You’ll Be Proud of Building
    • 4 DIY Kits You Can Build In a Weekend
    • 8 Gadgets You Didn’t Know You Could Make With a DIY KIT

We hope you’ve found this article interesting.

Thanks for reading.


[Recommended Course] Learn ESP32 with Arduino IDE

Register in our brand new ESP32 course with Arduino IDE. This is our complete guide to program the ESP32 with Arduino IDE, including projects, tips, and tricks! The registrations are open, so sign up now.


Other RNT Courses

[eBook] Home Automation using ESP8266 »

Build IoT projects and home automation gadgets with the ESP8266 Wi-Fi module.

[Course] Build a Home Automation System »

Build a home automation system using open-source hardware and software.

[Course] Arduino Step-by-Step Projects »

Build 25 cool Arduino projects with our course even with no prior experience!

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Related

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Affiliate Disclosure

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. We also participate in programs from Banggood, eBay, Aliexpress, ShareASale, and other sites. Maker Advisor is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies (read more).