Family STEAM Challenge: HEXBUG Family Race Night

This post is included in part of a week long series featuring STEAM learning activities the whole family can enjoy in collaboration with the popular Instagram account @steamkidschallenge. 

Have you heard of a HEXBUG? These micro robotic creatures are seriously cool! They use the physics of vibration to move and explore their surrounding environment. Best of all, they are super exciting to watch as they try to navigate their way through mazes... especially LEGO mazes!

Materials Needed:

• Creative QT Variety Pack Baseplates 4-Pack 10" x 10", 2 Green and 2 Blue, $22.95 per pack
• HEXBUG Nano Nitro 5-Pack, $19.99
• LEGOs (DUPLOs would also work)
• Leader board (we used a mini whiteboard)

Instructions:

There are so many fun components to this activity. First off is the engineering challenge of working together as a family to create the HEXBUG maze using building bricks.

When engineering the tracks try to let your kids take charge. See how they can develop their planning and building skills to create something that is challenging for the HEXBUGS, but that they can still get around. It's up to you how you present the LEGOs. As our engineer was fairly young we did a bit of pre-sorting and selected a fun range of pieces and put them in a container.

As you are building the maze, be sure to test it out with the HEXBUGs to make sure that they work. The micro robots are pretty good at navigating their way through obstacles, but can get stuck in tight areas.

You can include a start and finish line as well. Why not give your kiddo the extra challenge of building a fan zone too?!

Once the maze is ready, it's time to get down to business! We all chose a HEXBUG to be our racer for the night and then worked together to plan a race schedule.

The races were taken very seriously!!

After each race we allocated points for first and second place. This was a nice way to do it as it means even if you lose the race you are still gaining points (this helps younger members to feel less dejected if they have a slow racer!).

This activity covers many of the STEAM components: the engineering of the track, the science and technology of the HEXBUGs (be sure to explain to your kids how they work), and the math involved in scoring the races. The excitement of each race will keep your kiddos enthralled for hours! 

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Creative QT designs quality + innovative toys that declutter homes and inspire creative play. Founded by parents of five, Adam and Dana Sue Hinkle, Creative QT’s vision is to empower parents and encourage a culture of families that Make Time Together. All products are designed to enrich families’ lives through active, creative play and play based learning. Creative QT products are laboratory tested for compliance with CPSC requirements and are free of lead, cadmium and phthalates so you can play with confidence. So, go ahead … today is the day: be your kid’s hero.

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