15 Robotics Classes for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 3 hours ago
- 9 min read
If you are a middle school student interested in robotics, one of the most practical ways to explore it is by joining a class or program that matches your interests. Whether you want to learn programming, mechanical design, or how robots move, these classes give you a chance to work directly with robots without needing advanced skills or expensive kits.
Many of the classes listed below use structured projects or kits to guide your learning. Some take place in classrooms or labs, where you’ll follow step-by-step instructions and complete projects. Others are online or hybrid, letting you join from home while still building and programming robots. You may work in teams, solve challenges, and get a clear sense of how engineers design, test, and improve machines.
With that, here are 15 robotics classes for middle school students!
15 Robotics Classes for Middle School Students
Location: San Diego, CA
Cost: $275; includes instruction and robotics materials
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Information not provided
Dates: July 21–25
Deadline: Rolling admissions begin January; early registration recommended
Eligibility: Students entering grades 6–8; no prior robotics experience required
In UC San Diego’s Introduction to Robotics class for middle school students, you’ll complete hands-on work learning to build robots through applying skills in engineering, computer science, physics, and math. You’ll work with LEGO Mindstorm kits to learn about light and ultrasonic sensors, engineering gears and motor actions, and build a joystick to operate a robot. You’ll also develop coding skills in EV3 and the MIT App Inventor Environment software. You’ll finish the course with a complete, operational “battle bot.”
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies by the program; financial aid available
Dates: 8-week program offered in multiple cohorts year-round
Deadline: Rolling deadlines; early application recommended
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8; open to U.S. and international students
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is an 8-week online research experience for middle school students where you work one-on-one with a PhD mentor. The program is designed to help you explore an academic interest by learning research methods, building skills, and creating a project under close guidance. If you choose robotics as your focus, you can work with a mentor in computer science or engineering to explore questions in the field. The program includes weekly meetings, independent work, and support as you learn how research works. At the end, you complete a final output, such as a project report or presentation that reflects what you studied with your mentor. You can find the application form here.
Location: Charlotte, NC (UNC Charlotte campus)
Cost: $275; includes instruction and robotics materials
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment with limited seats per session
Dates: Multiple weekly sessions from June 9 – August 8 (No camps June 30 – July 5)
Deadline: Online registration opens to the public January 24; early registration recommended
Eligibility: Students entering grades 6–8; no prior robotics experience required
UNC Charlotte Robotics 201 introduces you to robotics using LEGO Education SPIKE™ kits through hands-on projects. You learn robot assembly, coding basics, mechanical design, programming logic, and problem-solving by building robots that move, sense, and navigate obstacles. Returning students can work with advanced components and more complex challenges. The program emphasizes teamwork and critical thinking through engineering design processes. You complete the program on the UNC Charlotte campus, gaining STEM skills that prepare you for robotics competitions and future engineering coursework.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Small cohorts of 5 students
Dates: 10 weeks, with multiple cohorts yearly
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Middle school students in grades 6-8
The AI Trailblazers program is a 10-week online course for middle school students. You learn Python programming along with topics like data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. The program combines lectures with small group sessions, with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio. Past student projects have included building a music genre classifier and creating an algorithm that recommends educational resources. The AI Junior Fellowship program is a 12-week experience where you work one-on-one with a mentor to design an independent AI project. You receive personalized guidance to complete either a research paper or an AI model based on your own interests. You can apply here.
Location: Tempe, AZ
Cost: $900; scholarships available ($50 fee for eligible students)
Acceptance Rate: Open registration with capped enrollment
Dates: June 16–27(weekdays only, 8:15 AM–4:45 PM)
Deadline: Rolling admissions; financial aid due one month before start
Eligibility: Students entering grades 7–8; exceptional 6th graders may be considered
At ASU’s summer robotics camp, you’ll learn engineering and design skills for robot construction through programming and hands-on building work. You’ll attend robotics classes in Alice programming environments, 3D animation, and using Web, game, and app programming for operating robots. You’ll build a complete robot with a group of peers through EV3 robotics programming and applying mechanical and electrical engineering design and building techniques. You’ll use your robot to compete in a group robotics challenge modeled after FIRST Lego League competitions at the end of the program, allowing you to test your finished product and prepare for extracurricular robotics activities.
6. MIT dynaMIT
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 40 students/session
Dates: Mid – late August; 1 week for rising 6th and 7th graders; 1 week for rising 8th and 9th graders
Application deadline: February 10
Eligibility: Massachusetts students entering grades 6–9; students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds lacking access to STEM enrichment programs are encouraged to apply
MIT’s dynaMIT program is designed to provide hands-on STEM education for middle school students from low-income backgrounds in the Boston and Cambridge areas. You’ll be mentored by current MIT students in classes on engineering, physics, computer science, and math with an emphasis on activities and project-based learning. While exact class topics vary each year based on mentors’ areas of expertise, yearly focuses on computer science and mechanical engineering often provide opportunities for robotics-centered training. Outside of class, you’ll attend Boston-area college tours, speak with MIT students about their academic and career trajectories, and go on field trips to STEM companies.
Location: Online (self-paced via Coursera)
Cost: Free to audit; optional fee for certificate and graded assignments
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; course completed individually
Dates: Self-paced; 5 hours of content plus assignments and quizzes
Deadline: Open enrollment year-round
Eligibility: Open to the public; beginner-friendly
Hosted by the Siemens technology company, the Basics of Robotics class offers middle school students an industry-focused introduction to robotics development. You’ll start by covering core elements like robot automation systems, component structures, and options of robot functional capabilities. You’ll then study more advanced topics like robot kinematics, human-robot collaboration, drive systems and end effectors, and mechanical design. The course then homes in on robotics in industry, including safety implementations and regulatory testing, usage of robotics in industry workflows, and the roles different types of robots can play in manufacturing and logistics.
Location: Online
Cost: Free | Certificate of completion available for an additional fee
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; course completed individually
Dates: Self-paced; 24–32 hours total over 8 weeks
Deadline: Open enrollment year-round
Eligibility: Open to the public; beginner-friendly; no prior experience required
Focused on coding and fabrication, the Introduction to Robotic Programming class provides middle schoolers with education in industry-level robotics design. You’ll learn to work with KUKA|prc, Rhino, and Grasshopper environments on algorithmic design, automation, and control through lectures and tutorials. Lesson topics include process visualization, robotic arm design, collision detection, structural design and analysis, and programming sequential robot tasks. This course will provide skill development across multiple commonly used robotics programming software, building and retrieval tasks for competition robots, and insight into industry robotics careers.
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; course completed individually
Dates: Self-paced
Application Deadline: N/A
Eligibility: Open to the public
The Khan Academy Home-made Robots class is part of its Electrical Engineering curriculum and introduces middle school students to the basics of building and programming robots. The course walks you through the design of three robots: Spout, Spider, and Bit-zee. You start with the simple Spout robot and progress to the more complex Bit-zee, learning how to design switches, lights, motors, and circuits along the way. Later lessons cover propulsion systems, Arduino hardware for digital and motor design, IR sensors, digital cameras, and programming techniques. Parts are not provided, but the course guides you step by step so you can apply the lessons to your own independent robot project.
Location: Online
Cost: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; course completed individually
Dates: Self-paced; 13 short units
Application Deadline: Open enrollment year-round
Eligibility: Open to the Public | Beginner level
The Robotics and AI Class for Middle Schoolers is an online course that introduces you to how artificial intelligence is used in robotics. You begin with programming, control systems, and algorithms before moving into topics like neural networks, machine learning, and AI decision-making. The course also covers how robots use sensors and code to move, real-world uses in areas such as healthcare and manufacturing, and the ethical and safety issues that come with AI-powered systems. You also learn about career paths in robotics and AI, the tools professionals use, and resources you can follow to keep building your skills after the class.
Location: Online
Cost: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; course completed individually
Dates: Self-paced; about 6 hours total
Application Deadline: N/A
Eligibility: Open to the public; Some prior experience in robotics/neuroscience recommended
Designed for students interested in both neuroscience and robotics, the Fundamentals in Cognitive Robotics class provides education in how functions of the human nervous system can be modeled through AI and integrated into robotic design. You’ll begin with learning about the question of “embodiment” in robots with the ability for independent movement and sensing, and ethical questions and concerns of mimicking human cognitive function in robots. You’ll then study technical concepts in intelligent/responsive materials and neural network design for robots. You’ll complement your computer science training with neuroscience and cognitive science class work, including the function of neurons, glial cells, and the structure of the human brain.
Location: Online
Cost: $79.99
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; course completed individually
Dates: Self-paced; 7 hours of lectures plus assignments
Application Deadline: N/A
Eligibility: Open to the public | No experience required, but basic Python knowledge is helpful
The Hands-on Universal Robots with Python: Zero to Hero course is an online class that teaches you the basics of programming and working with Universal Robots. You start with an introduction to industrial and Universal Robots, along with the Python skills needed for the course. Through interactive lessons and short projects, you practice coding and learn how to control robots. The advanced part of the course focuses on communication systems, simulation, and practical robot development. You work on projects such as transferring files with Python, simulating facial tracking, and programming robots for pick-and-place tasks. A certificate of completion is awarded at the end.
Location: Online
Cost: $19.99
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; course completed individually
Dates: Self-paced; 2h of lectures plus assignments
Application Deadline: N/A
Eligibility: Open to the public | Requires students to download Fusion 360 software | Students must have basic knowledge of mathematics
The Robotics for Absolute Beginners course is designed to help middle school students start learning robotics through programming, mechanical design, and concept drafting. You use Fusion 360 CAD software, beginning with setup and basic design, then move on to creating planes, gears, and full robot models. The course includes two main projects in CAD and robotic mechanical design that you complete independently. Although the class is asynchronous, you can message the instructor for support. A certificate of completion is awarded after finishing the course.
Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, and Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost: $2,000 (Commuter) | $3,000 (Residential)
Acceptance rate: Selective; 12-18 students/class
Dates: June 30 - July 5 (UC Berkeley) | July 28 - August 2 (Stanford)
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Grades 6-8
The Education Unlimited Robotics program is a one-week summer course for middle school students. You work with the VEX5 robotics platform, which is also used in middle and high school competitions. During the week, you design and build a robot with parts like the chassis, wheels, motors, and circuits. You also learn to code your robot to handle movement, sensors, and transportation tasks. The program mixes engineering lessons, problem-solving practice, and group activities. It ends with a final project where you compete in a class-wide robotics challenge.
Location: Waltham, MA (Gann Academy & Bentley University)
Cost: $2,500 (commuter); $4,597 (residential)
Acceptance Rate: Selective; 15–20 students per class
Dates: June 23 – July 11
Deadline: Rolling admissions; early application recommended
Eligibility: Students entering grades 7–12; no prior robotics experience required
Boston Leadership Institute hosts Electronics & Robotics classes for middle and high school students interested in both programming and hands-on engineering techniques in robotics development. You’ll learn principles in mechanical and electrical engineering to successfully build a robot in collaboration with your peers, while developing coding skills to remotely operate the robot. You’ll be tested with challenges including programming your robot to identify objects, retrieve items, and react to sound. Outside coursework, you’ll go on field trips in the Boston area, including touring college campuses and visiting industry sites related to robotics and engineering.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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