Who has LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0?

[Grady Clay]

Who has Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0?

Over the years there have been some discussion on version 1.x.
Who has version 2.0 or has a decade of experience with 1.0?

Even Wayne ‘played’ with this.
A couple of my students are after me to get one.
At $269 delivered, less than a used Fuchs.


(C) 2011 Lego

Best,
Grady

[LWJ]

Absolutely on my "need to buy" list for my 9 year old! Plus think how much fun I would have with it.

Bumping for someone who actually knows something about them.
Larry

[cstreit]

Same here. Looking fro excuse to buy for the 6 year old one of these days. How old does the kid need to be before Dad has to do all the work?

[sc_rufctr]

I bought a set for my son about 4 years ago. It's still in the "prime position" on his desk in his room.
Probably the best "toy" I ever bought him.

Great build quality and compatible with all of the Lego technic stuff.

EDIT For Chris: Michael was 10 when I bought his. I had to help him in the begging but he soon mastered it.
So I would say your son will need help but he'll soon learn to do it on his own. The small app for the laptop is easy to use.

[azasadny]

My son has a ton of the original MindStorms from a friend of ours who helped Lego develop the original product. Very cool toys that challenged him and the robots he created scared the pets!

[Grady Clay]

LEGO Mindstorms


Okay, I took the ‘step’ and trying to form or join a FLL (FIRST Lego League) team with the 7-YO I’m mentoring.
This is an annual LEGO competition worthy of Porsche and IMSA support.
We need to be included.

My student is already proficient building the most complex Technic models and is age-appropriate programming with NXT-G 2.1 graphical programming language.
I need to get him involved in the FLL competitions.

Here are the frustrations:
First, it seems difficult to find local (SE Denver) teams.
Second, I need to bring a team up to ‘high standard’ with a building collection of Lego pieces.

Here is where our Pelican Forum can help:
I’ll pay shipping for prior-used Lego collections. The more Technic oriented the better.
If someone has a very significant collection, I can trade a Porsche part or even (gasp) money.
This will go to a worthy cause and I intend to form an organization (FLL team) that will endure (perhaps as a Colorado LLC with 501-3c designation) past my lifetime.

Got LEGOs? Send them to me.
Please help.

Best,
Grady

[MBAtarga]

A few years back, I judged a FIRST competition at Ga Tech here in Atlanta. It was a long day and rather tense at times! My son would be pretty upset if I donated any of his LEGOs though.

[azasadny]

We have a boatload of the old original Mindstorms. My friend was one of the robotics guys that helped Lego develop the product and years ago, when our son was a Lego nut and our friend sent a huge box of Mindstorms to us. We hooked them up to the Win98 PC via a serial cable and programmed them to chase the ferrets around the basement. We had great fun with them!!

[Grady Clay]

Mark, I understand the intensity of these competitions for our youngsters. It is part of their ‘growing up’.
I’m also aware of how to tailor and mitigate the situations so the kids learn but are not abused by the process.
Yes, there is such a thing as ‘too intense’ competition.
Often they are fostered by ‘too intense’ parents and coaches.
I take a more moderate approach.

The range of activities (FLL, OM, academic competitions, Scouts, sports, Porsche and family) are what help develop our next generation.
Every family has its own set of priorities. Some technical like FLL. Some religious. Too many with little direction at all.
My goal (as a mentor) is to provide some positive direction where I can.
Thus far as a foster parent, adoptive parent, mentor, coach and ‘parenting advisor’, I have been reasonably successful.
Yes, one of my foster kids has been in jail.
Yes, one of my students is now VP of a large corp with a name we all know.
Yes, many are ‘published’ professionals.
Yes, some are now parents and figuring out 'parenting'.

Our collective interest in Porsche does not preclude us from becoming great parents and mentors.
Get involved.


Art, Mark and others:
If you have un-used Lego pieces collecting dust, please donate them.
If you want to retain them, please start a FLL team and become a coach.

Best,
Grady

[fanaudical]

Grady:

Thank you for stepping up. Science, technology, and mathematics education has really taken a back-seat in most schools across the nation. We need to get the next generation of engineers and scientists motivated. This is a very worthwhile endeavor.

I coached FLL teams for four years. Please let me know if I can help you with anything.

My personal approach was to set up the team in a matrix structure where each member had responsibility for a certain technical aspect of the competition, but had to use the other members to get it done. One member acted as overall team captain. This generally worked very well as everybody got to "be in charge" at some point.

Unfortunately, all of my LEGO is spoken for. If there are specific pieces you need, I may be able to supply them.

Good luck.