Venue: CSIRO Science Education Centre
Building 101 Graham Rd
Highett VIC 3190
(a map will be emailed to booked participants)
As limited seating is available for parents, children may have to work without parent’s presence. The venue has ample parking and is walking distance to Highett railway station & shops. It is a short drive to Southland Shopping Centre. The site has trees and grassed areas for younger children to picnic with parents.

Introducing Robots (code Y3)
10.30am-11.30am
$8 members $10 non-members
This hands-on class provides students with an insight into what a robot is and how people use them. The session centres on the programming of BeeBots. During the session, students will be shown how to give commands to the BeeBots in order to gain a basic understanding of how to control the robot’s movement. Students will build upon and use this knowledge to solve an increasingly complex set of tasks. These activities will develop problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, logical thinking, map reading, numeracy and literacy skills. The session is designed for the students to work in small teams of two to three. They must use verbal communication, teamwork and creativity in order to complete the tasks.
Suitable for children aged 5-7 years. Age limits apply.
Bookings: use our online booking form

Exploring Robots (code J3A)
10.30am-12pm
$10 members $12 non-members
This hands-on class explores the concept of what a robot is and what makes a robot different from other machines. By working with simple programs they learn about how a robot “thinks”, consider the advantages and limitations of robots and explore how design affects robot performance.
After a brief introductory discussion about robots and their place in both research and in the wider society, the students work in pairs with a robotic vehicle. The students explore what the robot vehicle will do and what senses the robot vehicle needs to operate. The robot vehicle is built around an ‘RCX Lego Brick’ which is a small programmable computer. We have pre-programmed the robots but will look at a simple program using light sensors with the students, as it is all icon-based and very easy to understand. The students will be given a chance to explore the actions of the robot and compare them with the program.
The students will then work with a second program called the ‘Table Clearer’. The students will make modifications to the robot to see if they can improve the design.
Suitable for children aged 8 years and over.
Age limits apply.
Bookings: use our online booking form

Working with Robots (code J3B)
1pm-2.30pm
$10 members $12 non-members
This hands-on class builds on the concepts learnt in the previous session ‘Exploring Robots’ and it is a pre-requisite to have attended the morning session. The students break into small groups to design programs for simple robots. The emphasis of the program is on working in teams to design and evaluate different solutions to each of the challenges. Students must investigate the role of programming, sensory input and physical structures on the behavior of their robots.
The session focuses on understanding and improving a ‘table clearing’ program. The students will see how a robot is programmed to complete this task, and then participate in improving the robot’s performance through modification of the program. In improving the robots’ performance, the students will use the scientific method to help establish what they mean by ‘better’ performance, collect data to evaluate their hypothesis and use this data to further improve the robot’s performance. The session ends with the robots being installed with a mystery program. Using a diagram of the program and some tools, the students have to determine what the robot can now do. At the end of the session, the students will have gained a basic understanding of the robot programming system, as well as further insight into how the scientific method can be used to effectively answer questions.
Suitable for children aged 8 years and over.
Age limits apply.
Bookings: use our online booking form

The Fun Stuff with Friends Programme has three levels of sessions, but the ages are just indicative. Parents should decide which they think their child will enjoy.

Hands on sessions for young children ages 4 – 6
Sessions for home educators – Junior ages 7 – 10
Sessions for home educators -Senior ages 10 and up