I have about $1,000 in Lego robotics. Ever hear of Mindstorms? These can be programmed either by the original instructions or they can run Java too. Anybody fool with Lego robotics? http://shop.lego.com/ByCategory/Leaf.aspx?cn=389&d=292
I have an older $150 very basic Mindstorms kit. The middle school(6-8 grade) my mom used to teach at was in a rich area and had thousands of dollars of Mindstorms that the students used for their computer class.