Lego mindstorms?

[jeaneg]

My 9 year old just took a robotics class and loved it. We'd like to get him a Lego Mindstorm so he can learn more, and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for finding one under the $350 price I've seen online. Thanks!

 

[Mousewerks]

You should be able to find cheaper Mindstorm stuff on eBay. You will not be able to find version 3 stuff for cheaper but the version 2 stuff (which is still very capable) is available for less. Do not get version 1.

One caveat about eBay, you may have to piece together a kit. Do a little bit of research to determine what is in a full kit and then see if you can get those pieces for less on eBay.

 

[chocolatemint]

Sometimes the Homeschool Buyer's Co Op has discounts on Lego Education sets. Might be worth checking occasionally.

 

[jeaneg]

Thanks to you both for the suggestions!

 

[comicguy]

Even though the Mindstorms kit is going to be discontinued in the near future, finding it at a discounted price is tough. We own 6 sets for our Robotics program and had to pay close to full retail for each one, even through Lego Education.

As far as ebay, make sure to know what you are actually getting, some people have less than the required parts in there kits (2nd hand) and it might actually be better to buy "new" or "sealed" to save money instead of trying to piece together a set.

IMO, I would consider buying the new EV3 set, we have 2 sets and the kids on the teams seem to like it better than the NXT (as it will be difficult to replace the "brain" of the NXT later on as as opposed to the EV3)

FYI: there have been 3 versions

1st RCX
2nd NXT (will be discontinued when they have a way for to sync EV3 for FTC competitions and will not need the wifi (samantha) module, they have predicted by August 2015)
3rd EV3 (released last August 2013)

The good news is they do not often update the the sets (mindstorms have been around I believe for close to 10 years) RCX for about 5 years before that.