The LEGO Education range is now enriched with a new kit for learning programming and robotics: The reference 45678 SPIKE Prime which will be available from August 1, 2019 at the public price of $ 329.95. At least one expansion pack with additional elements is planned, it will carry the reference 45680 and will expand the contents of the starter kit with 603 additional parts.

In this educational box with its box and its storage drawers, 523 elements including new parts including a 1x3x3 frame visible in the images below in purple (ref. 6252656) which will also be available in black (ref. 6265644) ), a 2x4 brick with three holes to accommodate cross axles or new wheels.

In addition to their presence in this box, these pieces presented here in colors "Gender Inclusive"(LEGO says it) will probably arrive sooner or later in more classic sets and open up new perspectives for the most imaginative MOCeurs.

This kit using a programming language derived from Scratch (compatibility with the Python language is a priori planned) will also make it possible to obtain a new programmable Bluetooth hub with six inputs / outputs, a 5x5 zone allowing different light messages to be displayed, a built-in speaker a gyroscope and a rechargeable battery. A set of motors and an assortment of sensors are also provided.

The SPIKE application will be available on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Chrome and LEGO makes available to teachers a series of lessons and activities to be made using this kit.

More info about this new product at this address.

I received several emails regarding the set 2000451 LEGO® Education Panama Canal following the announcement of its availability elsewhere than in Panama and I have good news for all those who would like to afford this box: The organization which has the exclusive distribution of this set now offers to return it (a little) more accessible by removing the shipping costs.

You can now have this set of 1184 pieces delivered for free in France (and everywhere else) via DHL. You will therefore only pay the $ 249.95 plus any costs that will remain at your expense if your package falls into the hands of customs officers on arrival in France.

The set can be ordered online at this address. A French translation of the Panama STEM organization website is underway.

I will offer you a home test of this set very soon, to assess the educational potential of the thing. The most "exhaustive" collectors have probably already formed an opinion on this box ...

Nothing is too good to perfect the education of our children who will perhaps one day become engineers at NASA or researchers in quantum physics thanks to the many LEGO sets that we offer them regularly ...

If you'd like to put it on a layer and explain to them length, width and across how the Panama Canal works, the LEGO Education set 2000451 XNUMX El Canal de Panamá is made for you.

Mintage of 40.000 copies, this box of 1184 pieces which was until now only available in Panama is now available. from the Panama STEM website anywhere in the world and therefore also in France.

It will cost you $ 249.95 for the set and $ 40 for shipping if you have the patience to wait 2 or 3 weeks for delivery.

If the education of your children does not wait, you can choose to be delivered in one week via DHL Express for the low price of $ 170.27 for a total payable of $ 420.22.

Do not forget that your package will pass through customs when it enters the national territory. Some additional costs are therefore to be expected.

On Bricklink, the set is sold a little over 300 euros without the shipping costs, and I do not even speak prices on eBay...

We tell you, it's not collectible, it's pe-da-go-gy.

Today we are talking about a LEGO product that is a little different from the ones we usually discuss here.
It's about WeDo 2.0 starter kit (ref. 45300), one of the products in the range Lego education which allows the youngest to develop in a fun way "their scientific, technological, engineering and programming skills". An entire program.

As a preamble, I would like to point out that I am neither a teacher, nor particularly a teacher. So far from me the idea of ​​issuing a peremptory opinion on the educational relevance of this product.

The basic pack contains a Bluetooth smart brick called Smarthub, a tilt sensor, a motion sensor, a model M motor and an assortment of 280 parts. The Smarthub is supplied by default via two 1.5V AA batteries (not supplied) but it is possible to acquire separately a compatible rechargeable battery (ref. 45302) and a mains charger (ref. 45517). Too bad the rechargeable battery is not included in the starter pack sold for 155 €. It is sold separately at a price of 61 € ...

WeDo 2.0 products use a new type of connector which, according to LEGO, should be used on all products Power Functions et mindstorms in a close future :

Everything is delivered in a rather well thought-out box with storage bin and stickers to stick to the bottom of each bin so that the child can locate and store each part in the right place.

This kit is intended for children aged at least 7 years old and who follow elementary or middle school cycles (CE1 / CE2, CM1 / CM2). So I put my 7 year old son to work. It is essential to accompany the child during the proposed activities. It could do it on its own, but that is not the point of this product.

The assortment of 280 pieces is interesting: the colors are nicer and more modern than the basic colors used for version 1.0 of the WeDo concept and you will have no trouble expanding the inventory with matching pieces from your previous purchases. of LEGO products.

This product is nothing without the app LEGO Education WeDo 2.0 that goes with. It can be downloaded for free and it is via this digital tool that we will be able to manage the Smarthub and the various sensors. The Smarthub is not directly programmable. It is possible to connect up to 3 smart hubs on the same interface, which therefore allows the use of six extensions simultaneously (sensors / motors).

Depending on the platform you use, LEGO offers a suitable version: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Chromebook, everything is there. I tested the application on a tablet under Windows 10 and on an iPad, no particular problem to pair the Smarthub in Bluetooth and launch the programmed sequences of events.

Be careful not to confuse WeDo 2.0 products with the range Lego boost which will be marketed next summer. With these products from the LEGO Education range, we have fun and we build, but always in a purely educational context through some twenty projects combining environmental, mechanical or scientific considerations.

For each thematic project, the child must first take into account the context of the project, answer a few questions, assimilate some concepts and only then can he move on to putting it into practice by assembling an interactive model that will be controlled via the app. It is therefore advisable to consider this product as a global concept and not to assimilate it to a simple kit of construction of simplistic robots capable of performing a few actions.

The central building block of the concept, the Smarthub, being totally dependent on the software that allows you to control it, you must therefore always have a tablet or PC on hand to animate your creations. The software is not available on smartphones. Fortunately, Bluetooth allows you to do away with the wired connection (USB) of the WeDo 1.0 version.

The assembly instructions for the different models are self-explanatory. In any case for the first of the three models offered by theme. For the following two models, only a few photos of the final result are displayed, the child will have to guess how to add the additional elements by deduction. It's an interesting exercise.

Even if the LEGO software that allows you to interact with the elements of this kit is very well designed, those who know and use Scratch interface can connect the Smarthub in Bluetooth via a dedicated software extension. They will then benefit from all the possibilities of this programming interface which will probably be more suitable for children already perfectly mastering reading and the principle of dragging and dropping action icons.

While my youngest son (7 years old) was concentrating on the big, very explicit icons of the LEGO software, my other son (13 years old) preferred to switch to the Scratch interface which he already uses in college.

This compatibility between the products of the WeDo 2.0 and Scratch range offers a not insignificant extension of the LEGO concept towards age groups higher than those envisaged by the manufacturer, and it is rather a good thing even if the older children will tend to quickly turn to products from the Mindstorms range.

I would point out for those who have not understood, this LEGO Education kit is not a toy with which you can give free rein to your artistic creativity. The number of parts is limited and the finish of the models offered suffers. The construction phase here is ultimately only a pretext to move towards the acquisition of scientific or engineering notions with an introduction to programming.

The products in the LEGO Education range are obviously more aimed at teachers and their students. They offer a turnkey educational concept, then instruct the teacher to animate and flesh out the thing to make the activity attractive.

If you have patience to spare, you will find, as parents, enough to organize interesting edutainment activities with your children. It is a good first approach to simplified programming and it is above all the opportunity to share a good moment of creativity and knowledge sharing with the family.

The kit is sold for 155 €. it contains elements 100% compatible with other LEGO products and technical elements such as the sensors and the motor have the new type of connector which will eventually replace the existing connector on the products Power Functions, which guarantees their durability and their compatibility with other future references.

Special thanks RobotAdvance, official distributor of the LEGO Education range in France, who provided me with this kit that I obviously put into play, like all the products sent to me by different brands.

To participate, you must intervene in the comments. You have until 3th April 2017 to 23h59 to contribute to the discussion and a draw will determine the winner. The winner's name / nickname will be posted here within 24/48 hours of the contest closing date.

Update : The winner has been drawn, his nickname is indicated below.