Raspberry Pi Virgin

[Noughtboy]

Hello all,

I have a son about to turn 9 who "may" be interested in a Pi. I say may as wife and I are exploring the idea without discussing it with him.

We are totally new to Pi. I mean that I know conceptually what it is and I am sure there are many applications and uses.

Now, I could invest a fortnight investigating the entire Pi universe but as his birthday is next week that is of little use

So, I am turning to my resident source of all things tech. Where should we start? There are so many sites and options and starter packs etc.

What do we need to start out with to get a good flavour without investing too much? We can always add stuff if the interest is sustained and depending on where it takes us.

He has done a little programming at school probably on BASIC or whatever they teach there. I am sure if there is something where he can run a game that requires a little programming or tweaking would be great or perhaps a kit which had a robotic component requiring programming or making something with circuits (no soldering!)

Please would someone save me a lot of time and effort and direct to worthwhile kits and perhaps some sites which teach Pi programming or applications etc.

Sorry for the big ask. Not lazy just short on time.

Thanks

NB

 

[gpuerrilla]

Buy him a cheap pi, 1/2/3 doesnt matter. Use a spare phone charger and hook it up to a telly. If you dont have a spare keyboard/mouse knocking about you will have to either go bargain land or pound shop type places. Most of this gear is really cheap if you want it to be.

Let him explore. The more things you hand to the youngesters on a plate the less interested they are. Let him learn and if he takes to it asking you for stuff then slowly add. No point blowing on kits if they have little interest. Hopefully local school or community club has extra activities for this sort of thing. Take it from there.

 

[Noughtboy]

I suppose that is sound advice. Just figured a kit would provide some scope for projects.

Which websites are preferred for learning skills and finding stuff to do? There are a lot so perhaps just narrow it down to a couple.

TIA

Regards

NB

 

[ScoobyDoo]

The official raspberry pi website is good, their user forums are a wealth of information from basics, programming to advanced projects.

 

[bulb66]

You could get him a subscription to the official raspberry pi mag? It comes with a Pi ZeroW & case for 12 months subs or get a Pi else where and download the pdf's of the mag.

J.