Rolling Robots in Glendale

The kids and I were invited to our own robot-building workshop at Rolling Robots in Glendale last weekend, and we had a blast. Rolling Robots has been at the Americana at the Grove for two years, and we had never heard of it. (It is actually on Brand, so you may not have ventured up that way after a trolley ride.)

We sat with the store’s owner George Kirkman, a former aerospace engineer who decided to use his knowledge, expertise, and love of teaching to open his own business. The kids were mesmerized by the workshop process. I had two nine year olds and two seven year olds with me, and building robots was a delightful and interesting way to spend an afternoon. Each kid chose a robot kit that was designed to be appropriate for their abilities. They assembled the motors, put the parts together, and then had the huge thrill of seeing the robots come to life. The spirit of Rolling Robots feels genuinely educational. My kids built simple robots, but in so doing learned about basic mechanics, how gears and motors work. There are few places that combine the fun quotient with a real sense of gaining knowledge, Rolling Robots is just that.

Rolling Robots is a workshop space and store that you can drop into – and have a spontaneous remote control robot battle, or you can even have a robot building birthday party there. They also offer some after school workshops with many different levels of robot building. Even a four year old can put together a beginner box robot, while robots involving elaborate computer programming can challenge older kids. Rolling Robots is the best kind of family outing, as it is learning disguised as fun.