What's the best Raspberry Pi starter kit for a 10 year old these days?
March 16, 2016 9:57 AM Subscribe
I want to gift a Raspberry Pi to my 10 year old nephew- he loves computers and Minecraft, and I think it would be a great way for him to learn more and have fun, rather than just use his iPad and apps. BUT THERE'S SO MANY OPTIONS TO CONSIDER.
We don't live in the same city (both in Canada though). His parents are not technically minded and I doubt they'd be able to help him set it up. They use Macs, iPhones and iPads pretty much exclusively.
I've set up my own Raspberry Pi, am somewhat comfortable with the shell, etc, but I definitely wouldn't call myself much beyond a beginner.
The Kano kit looks really appealing, since it has all of the accessories he would need and it looks like it has some good resources for him to get things running and troubleshoot. However, it's pretty expensive, and their Raspberry Pi 3 kit doesn't ship until June 2016. Also, I think the Raspberry Pi 2 kit currently being sold doesn't ship with a North American plug).
The other kits that I've seen look also expensive and come with less help focused for a 10 year old. I could build a kit on my own, but I am worried that he will have too much difficulty setting it up and get bored and forget about it. I could probably Skype with him to set things up but that seems less than ideal.
What would you buy for him? Is a Raspberry Pi too complex for a 10 year old on their own? Should I wait for the Kano kit shipping in July and suck up the high cost?
We don't live in the same city (both in Canada though). His parents are not technically minded and I doubt they'd be able to help him set it up. They use Macs, iPhones and iPads pretty much exclusively.
I've set up my own Raspberry Pi, am somewhat comfortable with the shell, etc, but I definitely wouldn't call myself much beyond a beginner.
The Kano kit looks really appealing, since it has all of the accessories he would need and it looks like it has some good resources for him to get things running and troubleshoot. However, it's pretty expensive, and their Raspberry Pi 3 kit doesn't ship until June 2016. Also, I think the Raspberry Pi 2 kit currently being sold doesn't ship with a North American plug).
The other kits that I've seen look also expensive and come with less help focused for a 10 year old. I could build a kit on my own, but I am worried that he will have too much difficulty setting it up and get bored and forget about it. I could probably Skype with him to set things up but that seems less than ideal.
What would you buy for him? Is a Raspberry Pi too complex for a 10 year old on their own? Should I wait for the Kano kit shipping in July and suck up the high cost?
I went with the Pi 2 Canakit from Amazon, which was $60 but now is $70, and it's pretty sweet. It comes with a card pre-loaded with NOOBS, so if nothing else he can get Minecraft up and running as it's preinstalled (the pi version, though). It doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse, or a monitor, obviously, but if he doesn't have a keyboard you can get a mini keyboard/trackpad for ~$15.
There's also a pi 3 kit for $10 more, which is kind of lame because it doesn't have to include the wireless or bluetooth dongles.
If you want to be the coolest uncle ever, you could set up Retropie with some emulators and get him a couple of these.
That Kano kit seems really expensive for what you get...
posted by Huck500 at 11:00 AM on March 16, 2016
There's also a pi 3 kit for $10 more, which is kind of lame because it doesn't have to include the wireless or bluetooth dongles.
If you want to be the coolest uncle ever, you could set up Retropie with some emulators and get him a couple of these.
That Kano kit seems really expensive for what you get...
posted by Huck500 at 11:00 AM on March 16, 2016
You are diffidently on the right track purchasing a Raspberry pi for you nephew . kudos to you .
I ended up getting the Raspberry Pi 3 Kit It had all the components I needed to start with my mindcraft project . I was also very happy that they weer shipping the latest version Raspberry Pi 3 I got this over Canakit being it was the same price as their Pi2 version.
Huck500 is right about Kano seems way too expensive
posted by megeekster at 1:49 PM on March 17, 2016
I ended up getting the Raspberry Pi 3 Kit It had all the components I needed to start with my mindcraft project . I was also very happy that they weer shipping the latest version Raspberry Pi 3 I got this over Canakit being it was the same price as their Pi2 version.
Huck500 is right about Kano seems way too expensive
posted by megeekster at 1:49 PM on March 17, 2016
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posted by OHenryPacey at 10:55 AM on March 16, 2016