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Activity

Amazing Mazes

Defeat the maze with your Finch!

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Create a maze with at least two turns, then use a variety of techniques to solve the maze.

Thanks to Tamar McPherson from Plum Senior High School for this fantastic Finch maze video!

BEGINNER: Level 1 or Level 2

Mark a maze on the ground with masking tape or use craft supplies or blocks to build a maze. Program a navigation sequence using only move and turn blocks. Iterate until your robot can get from start to finish of the maze. 

ADVANCED: Level 3

Use cardboard to build maze walls for the Finch’s distance sensor to detect. Program your Finch to solve the maze automatically! The Finch should:

  1. Move forward until it finds an obstacle.
  2. Turn right by 90 degrees if an obstacle is detected.

Repeat these two steps until you exit the maze. Note, this algorithm might work, but it may also cause your Finch to exit the maze in the same place that it entered.

    MATERIALS

    Use blocks, cardboard or other craft supplies to make a physical maze.

    INTEGRATION

    • This activity can be used to meet math standards associated with measurement. With FinchBlox level 1, students can measure how many forward blocks are needed to move the robot a given distance. In FinchBlox Levels 2 and 3, the distance the Finch moves is specified in centimeters. To complete a maze, students can measure each section of the maze and then program the robot to drive through it.
    • For a fun back to school activity, challenge students to model their maze after the school building. Have them program the Finch to move through their daily or weekly schedule. Students can attempt completing each other’s mazes, and even add challenges.
    • Coding doesn’t have to be done in English! Challenge World Language students to build their maze and write their code in another language.