Coding Cards
Colorful coding cards help you keep track of each step in a sequence. Each card features a direction or
"step" to program into Colby. Cards are tactile (after the braille stickers are applied) and color-
coordinated to match the buttons on the mouse. For ease of use, we recommend lining up each card,
in sequence, to mirror each step in a program. For example, if a programmed sequence includes the
steps FORWARD, FORWARD, TURN RIGHT, FORWARD, ACTION, place those cards in order to help
follow and remember the sequence.
Activity Cards
This set also includes 20 Activity Cards featuring 20 mazes. These cards can be used as an educational
tool to help young programmers “ramp up” their skills. Start out with Card 1 to learn the very basics,
and follow in number sequence as your logic and critical thinking skills improve.
For all the mazes on the activity cards, the goal is to program your robot mouse to reach the cheese.
Each of these mazes should be completed in the fewest steps possible. For mazes with tunnels, be sure
to have Colby pass under each tunnel before reaching the cheese.
CARD 1
There are large plastic squares that serve as the maze board that the mouse moves on and the walls
and tunnels are placed on. The squares can be joined together by using the tabs and slots on the
edges of the squares to form the larger maze boards.
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Card 1 needs a total of 16 squares.
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Get fourteen wall pieces to make your walls.
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Put together four squares across to make a row.
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Now make three more rows using four squares to make each row. Join the four rows to make a
big square.
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Now you should have one big square.
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Grab Colby the Mouse and put him on the top left square of the big square.
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Move him down one square. He should be on the left side of the big square and on the second
square from the top.
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Turn Colby until his nose is pointing to the right.
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This is Colby’s starting square. Leave him on the starting square.
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When squares are joined together, there is a gap that is formed between the two squares. This
gap is where the two walls will go.
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On the square Colby is sitting on, place two walls in the gap on the top of the square.
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On the same square Colby is sitting on, place two walls in the gap on the bottom of the square.
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On the square in front of Colby, which is the square to the right of Colby’s nose, put two walls
in the gap on top of the square and two walls in the gap on the bottom of the square.
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Two squares in front of Colby’s nose, do the same thing as you just did with the first two
squares. Put two walls in the gap on top of the square and two walls in the gap on the bottom
of the square
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There should be a long line of walls across the top of three squares moving right away from
Colby.
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There should also be a long line of walls across the bottom of the three squares moving right
away from Colby.
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Colby should be looking down a hallway with an opening at the right end. Take two walls and
put them at the end of the hallway. You have closed the hallway.
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Place the piece of cheese at the end of the hallway. Colby should be at the left end of the
hallway.
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Colby the Mouse is ready to be programmed to find the cheese.
