At SchoolAmanda Vaden
Two high school students work on a project with a Sphero RVR+ robot in a makerspace.

National Robotics Week 2025 takes place April 5–13, and your school is invited to participate! Whether you want to organize your own robot events or join one of the 100+ activities already being planned across the country, RoboWeek is a great way for students to get excited about STEAM, learn about local robotics companies, and try their hand at fun robotics projects.  

Why You Should Participate in National Robotics Week

The simple goal of National Robotics Week is “to share the excitement of robotics with audiences of all ages.” It’s not a single event but a loosely coordinated occasion all across the country, consisting of many competitions, workshops, and expos. Any school can take part, regardless of whether it has robotics on the curriculum. 

A wind sensor on a Sphero RVR+ robot.

There are so many reasons why your school should participate in 2025’s National Robotics Week: 

  1. Spark an interest in STEAM: Some students won’t develop an interest in something until they see it in action. RoboWeek's activities can help students “get” robotics, and that enthusiasm can seep into other STEAM subjects, too. 

  1. Harness outside expertise: National Robotics Week gives students a chance to learn from experts in the field of robotics. By bringing students to an event in your area (or joining online), you can show them how the robotics industry works and let them hear from professionals and researchers in the field. 

  1. Break up the routine: Educators can use exciting and interactive robot events to teach robotics. National Robotics Week isn’t a day off, but it can provide a break from the ordinary classroom routine and help reinvigorate the spring term. 

  1. Get students thinking about robotics careers: Robot events can be organized for students of all ages. However, older learners can use the week to learn about further education or careers in robotics by getting a glimpse of robotics in the professional world. 

  2. Foster student teamwork and development of soft skills: Robotics challenges work well as group activities. They can, therefore, help students develop teamwork and organizational skills, as well as other soft skills like patience, problem solving, and organization. 

Plan a Robotics Week Event for Your School (Or Join One) 

There’s no right or wrong way to participate in National Robotics Week. Regular users of Sphero coding robots might have some favorite robotics competitions or activities in mind that could be tied into the national event. Otherwise, here are a few ideas for what your school could organize: 

  • Challenge students to program a Sphero coding robot to perform a useful task and have them compare projects at the end of the day. 

  • Host a robot race! 

  • Task students to write a report on a real-life robot, explaining what it does and how, then compile the reports into a school-wide robot library. IEEE’s Robots Guide is a good place to start. 

  • Challenge students to design a new robot—either on paper or with design software like Tinkercad. 

  • Ask students to design and make a new accessory for a Sphero coding robot (with craft materials, Blueprint Engineering, or a 3D printer). 

  • Play an educational video about robotics… or a robot-themed movie. 

A high school teacher shows his student how to connect a sensor to a Sphero RVR+ robot.

Some events during National Robotics Week include open-entry competitions, workshops, and expos. Browse the events in your state to see if you can plan a day trip or attend virtually. 

Keep the Interest Going 

Robots are for life, not just during National Robotics Week, so build upon the excitement of the event to keep inspiring your students. Hold a debriefing session about what they have learned, encourage new projects inspired by the week’s activities, and gauge interest in a year-round robotics club. (All you need is a few keen students, to begin with, and then new recruits can be found term by term.) 

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to have some award-winning equipment for your robotics activities. Check out Sphero’s BOLT+ and RVR+ coding robots, perfect for new robotics converts in middle and high school and with a comprehensive library of lesson plans and activities.

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