About Our Classes

At Smart Fingers Robotics, we have all of the equipment and knowledge to give our students a great introduction to robotics, fun activities, and plenty of room to grow and explore. Each student in our workshops gets their own robotics kit and their own laptop computer to use. Class sizes are small, so everyone gets individual attention.

We provide full instructions, lessons, and individual help as needed for all of our activities. Our activities have flexible difficulty levels and several different approaches to suit all experience and skill levels.

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See our current class offerings here.

Full instructions are provided for beginners and for anyone who wants to use them. More experienced students are encouraged to improvise and find their own designs.		Every student gets their own robotics kit to build with and their own laptop to program with (for classes of up to 6 students).		Students will test their robots in fun activities and go head-to-head with robots created by other students.

The Education Value of Robotics

Robotics is widely recognized as one of the best ways to teach critical thinking and problem solving skills. It addresses all aspects of “STEM” education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) in a hands-on and practical way that promotes understanding and skills that last. We provide students the opportunity to design, build, experiment, troubleshoot, learn from their mistakes, and re-design for success. This is an opportunity that traditional schools do not have the time or the curriculum to teach. In addition to general design and problem solving experience, robotics teaches an introduction to both mechanical engineering and computer programming. Students who have built, programmed, and experimented with robots will have a significant head start in a future career in engineering or computer related fields.

About the Instructor

		Head Instructor Dave Parker has been coaching, teaching, and developing with LEGO MINDSTORMS for over 8 years. During this time he has taught Robotics classes for grades 4-8, coached school Robotics clubs, coached 12 FIRST LEGO League teams, mentored other teams, and mentored and trained teachers and coaches. Dave has also developed extensively with LEGO MINDSTORMS himself and is the author of the website www.nxtprograms.com, a leading resource for LEGO MINDSTORMS building instructions and programs. Dave is a certified trainer at the LEGO Education Academy and also works with LEGO Education to train teachers and coaches in the use of LEGO MINDSTORMS. Before becoming active in education, Dave worked as a software engineer and has a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science.