[WATCH] Lego robotics come to life at Northmead Square
The two-day expo was enjoyed by those who attended
The Pops Toys Lego robotics exhibition was held at Northmead Square on May 25 and 26.
Enthusiasts, young and old, converged at the Square much to their delight as they witnessed the brick building phenomenon come to robotic life via means of coding.
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Building the Lego set and then programming the code via a computerised system was made to seem effortless and easy by those in attendance.
Learners from Curro Serengeti present at the event wowed the crowds with their ability to programme the Lego bricks to travel along a path, move objects and not go off the course.
Educator Anton Jacobs was proud of the robotic aesthetic display the learners created.
“Coding and robotics prepares the learners for their future careers in technology, science and engineering as we are entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Anton.
“There is also a connection between the theory and practice of mathematics.
“Previously, we were told mathematics was of importance to us, but it would have been difficult to connect the dots to real life.
“Here, the children have to enter a mathematical formula onto the system in order to create the code that enables the robotics to move.
“As an educator, I have also seen an increase in mathematics scores achieved by the learners.
“Coding enables critical thinking and, in my experience, has sparked a new interest and passion for the learners with regards to learning areas such as technology, science and mathematics.”
Kiana Ye (14), who has studied coding since Grade Two, said she had a lot of fun experimenting with the coding.
“The programme allows the robot to travel the course and push the animals (Lego-made) back into the zoo and the people (Lego blocks) back into the cinema,” explained an enthusiastic Kiana.
“I’ve been learning coding since Grade Two and I can say it’s relatively easy to learn.
“Using the coding helps us learn new skills.
“The only aspect that I find slightly challenging is learning to code the sensory movements.”
Also present at the exhibition was three generation Lego-loving family, the Manuels.
Jenny Manuel, her son Ryan and granddaughter Ava were ecstatic to be at the expo and exhibited some of their Lego wear.
Jenny explained that Lego has been a fundamental part of their family, starting with her and later passing the tradition on to her son and granddaughter.
Ryan built a pinball machine out of his Lego kits and programmed the coding to react as a fully operational machine.
“It took me a week and a half to build,” said Ryan, who added working until the early hours of the morning made the ping-pong table possible.
“I have been building Lego sets for as long as I can remember and I also teach coding classes.”
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