You know we live in an amazing world when we can spark a child’s curiosity and teach them how to be creative and control their very own robot. The Artie 3000, is a Mensa for Kids Approved product that teaches them the fundamentals of computer coding through their interactive drawing robot.

The team at Educational Insights showcased Artie at this years’ CES to much fanfare and drew quite a lot of attention from educators to tech. enthusiasts. In fact, in a recent survey done by Mensa themselves, they concluded that 96% of parents surveyed stated they believe coding principles will help kids regardless of their future career paths.

So how does it work? Artie 3000 is essentially a Wi-Fi enabled coding robot and through using drag and drop visual programming software; children imagine simple or complex drawings and designs and then command Artie to draw them! Whatever movement the child has programmed into the code – forward, backwards, sideways, spinning etc. using the included four thin-tip colored markers, your child’s imagined artwork comes to life! There are literally dozens of pre-programmed shapes, designs, and games, or they can write their own custom code to see what Artie 3000 can do.

After using Artie with my own son this past month, one thing to take away from a product like this is that the child themselves can see the product of their learning and actually have something tangible afterward to show for all of their hard work, this is quite the powerful motivator. Set up, could not have been any easier with their quick setup guide and very simple to follow activity cards that even for a novice parent like me could follow and help my son get started. Sure enough, given enough time, my son had figured out how to create different angles and degrees, what length certain lines should be and even when and how to lower and lift the markers.

As a parent, I can definitely see the merit of a product like this, it is “fun-ducational” meaning that kids enjoy learning the how to make the robot move and draw what they want and it is a fun activity for both children and parents alike. As a reviewer, I think the drag and drop commands are a great way to introduce the concept of coding and then as children conjure up more complex imagery to be drawn, they can move on to writing their own code and the world is their oyster.

At just $69.99 the Artie 3000 coding robot is the type of product we should be introducing our kids to. It inspires their creativity and makes them more inquisitive about technology and the world itself. So, tell your children to stop playing Fortnite and teach them a future proof life skill that could change their future!

BUY yours here – Educational Insights Artie 3000 The Coding Robot, Multicolor