Raise your hand if you love letting your kids build and design with brick blocks. You know the ones, those ones that always seem to hide and wait for mom and dad to step on them. We love using them in our house, sometimes even for math! But we have had the chance to build something new with the meeperBOT 2.0 from Meeper Technology, LLC.

The meeperBOT 2.0 takes building with brick bots and remote-control vehicles and combines them together to allow you to have fun with both at one time. All that you need is the meeperBOT, a Bluetooth device (Apple or Android) and a 9-volt battery, oh, and brick blocks of your choice! Once you have these, get ready to have a lot of fun!

The meeperBOT is a solid platform to build upon, inside the platform is where you will find the dual, rear-wheel 300RPM motors. There are also “hitches” on the front and the back of the main platform that you can use to add trailers or other accessories you dream up.

Once you have finished building your dream meeperBOT design, you are ready to drive it! Yes, your brand-new design can drive! There are four different ways to drive your meeperBOT. You can use the Command Drive, which is the standard drive mode. It was perfect for my youngest when she stole the meeperBOT from the older kids.

You can also use Touch Drive. This is similar to using a joystick approach to driving. There is also Tank Drive. This was a little more difficult to use, but once we got the hang of it, it was pretty fun. One hand controls the forward and backward movement while the other hand controls the right to left movement. There is even a BOT Code. This is where you will learn to make a code, as simple or complex as you want for your BOT to follow.

Another thing that is available with your meeperBOT is the meeperBOT Garage. This is a link on the website that will take you to help when you can’t get something to work for you. We initially had a problem connecting our meeperBOT to our Bluetooth device. A friendly stop in the Garage and a few ideas shared, and we were connected! I really did appreciate the fact that we have access to this garage because I am not as tech savvy as I want to be, yet.

Everyone, including daddy, was excited to see the meeperBOT in action. Well, the dog wasn’t so happy when he was being chased by it, but everyone else really enjoyed it! Each child took a turn building their dream BOT, and with the number of blocks we have in this house, they were able to create some big BOTs.

We were able to learn about building vehicles with our meeperBOT. While the kids loved making tall BOTs, they quickly realized that tall, skinny BOTs would tip if they met a bump in the path much quicker than a stable BOT. I loved watching and listening to them talk together to see what size, style, and design would work best to drive. Their minds were thinking and planning so much, and they only thought they were having fun, not learning!

Even my youngest at 3 years old was having fun building and learning from the meeperBOT. While the age recommendation says 5 and up, this girl has been building with these little blocks since she was one, so I wasn’t worried about this. In fact, she is the one enjoying the BOT the most right now!

We did test out the BOT Code, but my kids were not quite ready for this yet. I loved watching them try it. I know that as we go along, they will slowly learn more. I plan to use this ‘toy” this year for our science time. I plan to have the kids working on the code section and learning code by trial and error.

The meeperBOT is a great way to allow my kids to learn while they play. This is a well-loved toy in my house, but even if the kids classify it as a toy, they are learning something every time they pick it up!

—Product review by Amanda Hopkins, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September, 2018