Tracy,

I didn't see an answer to your question. It may be too late for this year, but in any case, yes, there is an easy way to add an acceleration or deceleration to the robot's driving (or to its movement of an 'arm'), through the use of Motor blocks.

The Motor block, when configured with a duration of Rotations or Degrees, allows an "Action" to be set as "Constant" or "Ramp up" (at the start) or "Ramp down" (at the end). The duration of the "ramp" is not adjustable, but by also experimenting with the "Power" setting and the "Motor Power" check-box, you should obtain the desired result.

(Another method would be to string together two or more Move or Motor blocks with increasing power settings, but that's a clumsy solution and the results may be sensitive to battery power.)

Many teams use Move blocks to drive the robot, as they're very straightforward. However, it's also possible (and sometimes desirable) to use a pair of Motor blocks instead. There are two ways to use Motor blocks to drive both wheels simultaneously. You can put two Motor blocks in series (next to each other on the sequence beam); configure one for the left wheel motor, the other for the right; and uncheck the "Wait for completion" check-box in the first block. Or you can branch the sequence beam (hold Shift while dragging a new piece of beam, click to bend it, and double click to finish it off), and put the Motor blocks in parallel.

For those wanting to learn (or teach) about MyBlocks, it makes a neat little MyBlock learning exercise to create an adjustable "Drive" MyBlock that contains the pair-of-Motor-blocks structure inside it and an adjustable distance parameter (or two, to allow steering).

-- 

Cheers,
Mike Blanpied
Reston, VA
2006 #4809 Nano People
2007 #1666 Power Bunnies
2008 #5013 BLT--Brilliant LEGO Team