Activity challenge

Quick Answer: Activity Challenge is a set of programming challenge cards for the Thymio educational robot, each setting a task that pupils solve by coding the robot. The Thymio activity challenge format turns sensors, lights and movement into short problems for pairs or small groups.

How Challenge Cards Structure a Robotics Lesson

A blank programming screen can stall a beginner. A challenge card gives a clear goal, such as making the robot stop at the edge of a table, change colour when it is touched or drive round a square, and leaves the students to work out which sensor events and actions will get there. Because each card is a self-contained task, groups move at their own pace while the teacher circulates.

Sets of this kind usually rise in difficulty, starting with single event-action rules in the visual VPL editor and moving towards sequences, timers and states. The number of cards, the levels covered and the language they are printed in are not given in the product name, so these are the details to confirm when ordering.

Working from cards also makes progress easy to see: a group either completes the challenge or can explain which part of its program does not yet work. That gives the teacher a quick picture of the whole room without marking a single printout.

Ways to Use the Challenges

• Starter tasks for a first robotics lesson, after the built-in behaviours have been explored
• Station work, with a different card at each table and groups rotating
• Extension tasks for groups that finish early
• Club competitions in which teams race to complete a set of cards

Keeping the Set in Use

• Store the cards in their box or a ring binder in order of difficulty, so the next class finds them sorted.
• If the cards are paper, clear sleeves help them survive busy tables; keep drinks well away.
• Keep a teacher copy with notes on the common mistakes for each challenge.

Specifications

Why Choose LabEquip

Activity Challenge is usually bought together with a set of robots so that lessons have ready tasks from the first week. LabEquip offers the cards in its General Lab Products range alongside the Robot Thymio II and the Thymio School Track, which gives floor challenges a surface to run on. Ask about the card set through the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which robot are the Activity Challenge cards made for?

They are written for the Thymio educational robot and use its sensors, lights, sounds and motors. A Thymio robot and the Thymio Suite software are needed to carry out the tasks.

Do students need programming experience?

No. The first challenges can be solved with simple event-action rules in the visual editor, where a picture of a sensor event is linked to a picture of an action. Later tasks build on those skills.

How long does a challenge take?

Simple tasks can be done in a few minutes, while harder ones may take a full lesson of testing and fixing. Planning two or three cards per lesson leaves time for students to explain their solutions.

Can the cards be used without the robot?

Students can plan a solution on paper, which is good practice in algorithmic thinking, but testing it needs a Thymio. Planning on paper before touching the robot often cuts down trial and error.

How should a teacher check a solution?

Ask the group to run the program and then explain which event triggers each action. There is usually more than one correct program, so judge whether the robot meets the challenge rather than whether the code matches an answer sheet.

Do the cards cover text programming?

The product name does not say which languages are covered. The early challenges in sets like this normally use the visual editor; if your students work in Scratch or Aseba text code, mention it and confirm the levels at enquiry.

Last Updated: September 2026