Comparison

Howtosmile vs Blockly for Dash & Dot robots

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Howtosmile

Discover and perform fun, hands-on STEM activities for all ages. Explore a vast collection of experiments, games, and projects created by leading science centers. Search by keyword, topic, cost, or age to find your next engaging learning experience.

Highlights
  • Hands-on STEM activities
  • Searchable activity collection
  • Filter by topic, cost, and age
  • Created by science centers
  • Blog with fresh ideas
  • Suitable for all ages
Features
Read full description

howtosmile —the best science fun anywhere, any time, any age! Find and DO fun hands-on science, math, engineering and technology (STEM) activities created by the country’s top science centers and out-of-school educators. Explore for FREE the entire howtosmile collection of over 3,500 activities, games, experiments, and more. Search the whole collection by word—like sound or planet; by topic—like Cooking, Chemistry, or Climate; by cost to do the activity—from free to over $20; and by age—from 4 to adult. Read the howtosmile blog for fresh ideas and approaches, plus profiles of out-of-school educators who make science learning cool and exciting, whether they teach in a museum, classroom, an afterschool program, or a kitchen at home. Discover your new favorite hands-on activities to do with your friends, family, or students. Get inspired! Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation, and Oracle. Brought to you by the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley.

About

Blockly for Dash & Dot robots

Learn coding fundamentals through interactive play with robots. This app uses a visual drag-and-drop interface to create programs for Dash and Dot robots, offering challenges and creative freedom for young learners.

Highlights
  • Visual drag-and-drop coding
  • Robot programming challenges
  • Create custom robot behaviors
  • Learn coding concepts (sequencing, loops, variables)
  • Bluetooth connectivity to robots
  • Playful storylines and puzzles
Features
Read full description

PLEASE NOTE: This app requires a Wonder Workshop robot (Dash or Dot) to play. To find out more, please visit our website: https://www.makewonder.com. This app is FREE to play. Blockly is a visual drag-and-drop programming tool developed by Google that allows children to snap together commands like puzzle pieces. This app includes dozes of coding challenges for kids to tackle. They can also invent their own creations using Blockly to program Dash & Dot! Learn concepts like sequencing, events, loops, algorithms, operations, and variables through self-directed play and guided challenges. A series of puzzles teach the concepts of coding through playful storylines, allowing kids to learn and explore all on their own. Kids can confidently embark on their own coding adventures with their newfound knowledge, a dash of creativity, and robot buddy - Dash. For ages 6 and up. As seen on the New York Times, USA TODAY, WIRED, Engadget, BBC, and more. “Thoroughly absorbing.” - New York Times “Both kids begged me to take out the robots and start playing with them again.” - Business Insider “Wonder Workshop's notion that kids need to learn twenty-first century skills (and can have fun doing it) flips the industry paradigm on its head, putting kids first.” - James Oppenheim "They are designed to encourage kids to explore and be curious while also learning problem solving." - VentureBeat HOW TO PLAY - Connect Dash and/or Dot to the Blockly app using Bluetooth Smart/4 - Start with a sample project or start your own projects from scratch - Navigate Dash through a maze or around the room, using object detection to avoid walls - Dash knows when it's being picked up and moved. Program Dash to sound the alarm when there is a disturbance! - Program Dash to do synchronized dance moves with lights, motion, and sounds If you have any questions or suggestions, we would love to hear from you! Contact us at any time at https://help.makewonder.com. ABOUT WONDER WORKSHOP Wonder Workshop, an award-winning creator of educational toys and applications for children, was founded in 2012 by three parents on a mission to make learning to code meaningful and fun for children. Through open-ended play and learning experiences, we hope to instill a sense of wonder while helping kids develop their creative problem solving skills. We play test with children throughout our product and app development process to make sure our experiences are frustration free and fun. Wonder Workshop takes children's privacy very seriously. Our apps do not include any third-party advertising or collect any personal information. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Privacy Policy: https://www.makewonder.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://www.makewonder.com/TOS Make Wonder: https://www.makewonder.com/make-wonder

Screenshots

Howtosmile3 screens
Blockly for Dash & Dot robots4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Howtosmile at 100% against Blockly for Dash & Dot robots's 53%. Howtosmile also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 12.0). Blockly for Dash & Dot robots's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 21 months) and ratings volume (172 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Howtosmile holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blockly for Dash & Dot robots has 172 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Howtosmile's written reviews are positive against 53% of Blockly for Dash & Dot robots's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Howtosmile ships an update every 21 months, Blockly for Dash & Dot robots every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Howtosmile versus Blockly for Dash & Dot robots: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHowtosmileBlockly for Dash & Dot robots
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.3 (172 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better53.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1172 — better
Update frequencyEvery 21 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS7.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB142 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Lawrence Hall of ScienceMORAVIA Consulting, spol. s r.o.

Customer experience

Howtosmile

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Blockly for Dash & Dot robots

All ratings168 ratings
Positive82.7%
Neutral1.2%
Negative16.1%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral12.0%
Negative34.8%

In-app purchases

None

Howtosmile

No in-app purchases

None

Blockly for Dash & Dot robots

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Howtosmile free?
Howtosmile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Blockly for Dash & Dot robots free?
Blockly for Dash & Dot robots is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Howtosmile or Blockly for Dash & Dot robots?
Howtosmile is rated higher. Howtosmile averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Blockly for Dash & Dot robots averages 4.3 from 172 ratings.
Do Howtosmile or Blockly for Dash & Dot robots have ads?
Neither Howtosmile nor Blockly for Dash & Dot robots shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Howtosmile or Blockly for Dash & Dot robots?
Howtosmile ships an update every 21 months, and Blockly for Dash & Dot robots every 2 months. Most recently, Howtosmile was updated on November 1, 2026 and Blockly for Dash & Dot robots on November 6, 2026.

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