Roblox, Scratch or Python: where should kids start?

Mars has no Roblox course. Where Roblox fits, why ages 9-11 start with Scratch and teens aged 12-17 with a website, Python and bots.

Roblox, Scratch or Python: where should kids start?

In short:

  • people in Uzbekistan search for Roblox roughly three times as often as Python and four times as often as Scratch, but Mars has no Roblox course;
  • at Mars, ages 9-11 start with Scratch, then robotics and Arduino; teens aged 12-17 start, after the first month "AI-Pilot", with a first website, then Python and bots;
  • Roblox is useful as motivation: every game has a program behind it, which makes a good conversation starter.

"I want to make Roblox games" is the most common phrase children use when parents come asking for a course. Demand confirms it: by Google Trends over a year in Uzbekistan, the search index for "roblox" is about 79 against 27 for "python" and 19 for "scratch" (relative figures from a single comparison). Let us say it plainly: Mars has no Roblox course, and we will not pretend otherwise.

What we do have are programmes that lead from the same interest in games to code by a different route. Here is where Roblox fits in this picture, and what we actually teach.

Where Roblox fits

Roblox Studio uses the Luau language: according to Roblox's documentation, a fast scripting language derived from Lua 5.1. It is a separate ecosystem with its own engine and rules inside the platform. Variables, conditions and loops are the same ideas as in Scratch and Python, so interest in a game can turn into interest in code. That does not mean we prepare children for Roblox; we do not.

If your child's goal is specifically games inside Roblox, our programme will not fit, and it is better to know that up front. If the goal is to learn programming in general, there is no need to start with Roblox.

Scratch: where code can't be written wrong yet

Ages 9-11 start here. Scratch builds a program out of blocks, like a construction set. There is no syntax, so no red errors from a missing bracket. The child sees a character move and immediately understands "command, action". Scratch is designed primarily for ages 8-16 and is free for everyone.

The downside: Scratch is a learning environment; nobody writes working services in it. That is why in AI Kids it is only the first step, followed by robotics and Arduino, meaning hardware that reacts to commands.

Python: the first real language

In the 12-17 programme, Python comes after the first website and leads to Telegram bots and databases. It reads almost like English, and python.org describes it as a language for rapid development. The child writes code that runs on their own screen and in Telegram, and the bot can be shown to friends. Telegram has official documentation for bots, so the child learns to read the same docs adults use.

Who it suits: from 12, when a child can hold attention on one task for 25-30 minutes. A child should already read confidently; touch typing is taught in the first month, "AI-Pilot".

How to choose

Path by age: Scratch or a website, with Roblox as motivation
Path by age: Scratch or a website, with Roblox as motivation

What to do in practice:

  1. Under 11 and wants games: Scratch. A mini-game can be built in a few lessons.
  2. 12+ and wants "real" code: a website, then Python and a bot.
  3. Keep Roblox as leisure and a source of ideas. Ask: "what did the programmer do in this game?"

If the choice turns out wrong

If after two or three lessons the child does not want to show their work to anyone, they may be bored. Then change the task, not the language: from a game to a robot, from a bot to a site. Tell the curator; they know what your child does in class. Every lesson ends with finished work. For example, the MarsHub platform hosts a game at plov-master.marshub.uz: 2048 played with Uzbek dishes.

A language is a tool; what matters is the habit of breaking a task into steps and finishing it as something that works. Loops and conditions from Scratch are recognised later in Python.

Parents' questions

Does Mars teach Roblox?

No. We have no Roblox course. We teach Scratch, robotics and Arduino for ages 9-11, and websites, Python, bots and databases for ages 12-17.

Will Scratch or Python help with making Roblox games?

The ideas are shared: variables, conditions, loops. But Roblox Studio runs on Luau, and that has to be learned separately.

How do I turn an interest in Roblox into an interest in code?

Ask your child what the program does in their favourite game: how points are counted, where enemies come from. Then show that they can build the same thing themselves in Scratch in a few lessons.

Not sure which group your child belongs in? Take the course finder or leave an application for a trial lesson. Programmes: AI Kids and AI Pilot.

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