The Lego Mindstorms NXT Zoo! An Unofficial, Kid-Friendly Guide to Building Robotic Animals with the Lego Mindstorms NXT

Whether you're just beginning with your LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT set or are already an expert, you'll be inspired by these animal-like models that walk, crawl, hop, and roll!

The first part of the book introduces you to the NXT kit and reviews the parts you'll need in order to begin building. Next, you'll learn how to program with the NXT-G programming language, including how to make miniprograms called My Blocks that you can use to build larger programs. Finally, you'll learn how to build each robot and program it to act like its real animal cousins.

Learn to build and program the following robots:

Ribbit, a jumping frog
Bunny, a hopping rabbit
Sandy, a walking camel
Spiderbot, an eight-legged spider that avoids objects and walks forward and backward
Snout, a walking alligator that opens and closes its jaws
LEGOsaurus, a four-legged, plodding dinosaur
Pygmy, a walking elephant that raises and lowers its head
Polecat, a skunk on wheels that lifts its tail and shoots "darts"
Strutter, a peacock on wheels that turns and flutters its tail feathers

Troubleshooting tips help you avoid problems like misarranged gears and incorrect programming, while a list of Internet resources is included to help guide you in further exploration with the NXT. Teachers and home educators will appreciate an appendix with helpful suggestions for using the models in the classroom.

The models in this book have been tested repeatedly -- and built successfully -- by novice builders, so all you have to do is follow the directions and watch them go. Now, let the building begin! (Note: These specific models require additional NXT/TECHNIC parts. Check out the part lists at thenxtzoo(DOT)com.)

Customer Reviews:

A personal Lego Mindstorms NXT Zoo review

By Bad_Wolf - March 16, 2008

Hi everyone,

I received this book last week Monday. When I bought this book, I was very sceptical about this book because a peacock on wheels on the cover was a little strange. But I also build a Giraffe with a fifth middle leg based on the book from Benjamin Erwin "Creative Projects with Lego Mindstorms (RIS kit)" which seems also unusual at that time. Also the book of Benjamin Erwin is also an excellent book. So this is of no surprise that I bought this book also.

My skepticism melted as snow for the sun when I saw the creatures and the building instructions inside the book. This book is clearly written with its audience in mind, ie Children. The building instructions are very clear and detailled. The explanations are also easy to follow.

What could be improved, is the explanation of the NXT-G programming language. In my opinion they go not deep enough. An in depth coverage of the NXT motors, touch, ultrasonic, light sensors is missing. Expecially... read more

Must-Have NXT Book for Kids

By J. Kelly "GA Book Fan" - March 3, 2008

In a nutshell: What a great book.

As the author states in the Preface, there are plenty of books for adults that are geared towards NXT, but this book is 100% focused on its primary audience: kids.

First, the subject matter - animals. You can't go wrong with giving kids building and programming plans to build their own skunk, alligator, and dinosaur (only 3 of 9 great little robots). And the designs don't just LOOK like their counterparts - the author has provided programming that makes them mimic the real-life animal. (And the book's website has instructions for adding realistic sounds.)

Second, the building instructions - easy to follow. The author not only provides some of the clearest NXT building instructions to date, but she also provides a complete checklist of the parts required (and the website has a useful chart for locating the needed parts). Also nice is the fact that the list of parts NOT included with the Education Base Kit is very... read more