The Robot Factory by Tinybop
Common Sense says
- iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- $3.99
- Education
Parents say
Kids say
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that The Robot Factory by Tinybop is an exploratory app for early elementary school-age kids who love to create, design, and experience free play. Though parent profiles help guide your kids, the meat of this app is where the kids design and test their robots. Kids will feel free to arrange their robot parts in any way they see fit, without judgment or value placed on them. The open-ended play may not include enough guidance for some kids, and some may look for ultimate goals, which don't exist in the game.
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What's it about?
In THE ROBOT FACTORY BY TINYBOP kids begin by naming and personalizing a profile for themselves, and then they can immediately design a robot. They choose from dozens of parts including a torso, a head, arms and legs, hands, and facial features. There are few restrictions about where to attach body parts. Using their device's microphone, kids also can record three sounds for the robot and can choose the robot's color scheme. Save the robot in the collection, and then take it out into the world to test how well the robot does on a variety of terrain. Kids then can edit their robot or create a new one, playing with them as desired.
Is it any good?
Though based on a simple concept, this app will capture and keep a kid's attention because it provides a combination of creation, free play, testing, and revision. The baked-in observation and problem solving gives The Robot Factory by Tinybop more depth than other robot-creation apps and lets kids tinker and customize with a purpose in mind. Since there can be more than one robot-building profile, and even more than one parent profile, this app offers plenty for a family of any size. Since kids also can save images of their robots, it's easy to share their creations with friends and family, which can spark discussion with friends about robot design. It's possible that some kids will look for specific goals or a way to win the game, so it might be helpful to explain the overall premise before a kid starts playing. A brief set of audio instructions might help kids catch on faster.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about which features make a good robot for different terrain, arguing the pros and cons for each feature.
Kids can extend their learning into the real world by drawing pictures of robots they would want to build or even by building their ideas with toys or found materials.
App details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Subjects: Science: engineering
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: analyzing evidence, applying information, collecting data, decision-making, investigation, prediction, problem solving
Creativity: innovation
Tech Skills: digital creation - Price: $3.99
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: April 7, 2015
- Category: Education
- Topics: Robots, Science and Nature
- Size: 147.00 MB
- Publisher: Tinybop
- Version: 1.0.1
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 7.0
- Award: Common Sense Seal
Themes & Topics
For kids who love science and engineering
Our editors recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.