Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My son wants to build a computer and I thought that as a 14 year old lad that is doing computer science a Raspberry Pi might be entertaining for him. Are there any starter kits and project books that would be a good present to run along side a starter kit? Thanks

Hello and welcome to Science Buddies,
Here's a link to the Science Buddies Raspberry Pi blog:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ?from=Blog

There is also a link in that blog to the Frequently Asked Questions. Let us know if any of this information is helpful and do not hesitate to ask more questions!

Hi -

The Science Buddies Raspberry Pi kit (https://www.homesciencetools.com/produc ... it?aff=SB1) is meant for students who are genuine beginners and do not have access to a local mentor. It sounds like you may be looking for something slightly more advanced, in which case you might want to check out the official Raspberry Pi website for more options: https://www.raspberrypi.org/

What exactly you want will depend on your son's experience level - e.g. if he already has some programming experience, he can probably jump right into text-based programming with Python. If he has no prior programming experience then he's better off starting with Scratch, which is a "graphical" programming environment (https://scratch.mit.edu/). You will find resources catering to each one. What kit you want will also depend on what, if any, accessories you have lying around (e.g. if you already have an extra HDMI cable and/or 2 amp micro-USB phone charger, you don't need to buy a kit that includes those).

Hope that helps!

Ben