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What's best for kids? Raspberry Pi, BBC Micro or Arduino?

Nigel Ward
.... or any other micro for home experiment etc? 

I'd like to get my grandson started (aged 9) - he has had good experiences with the LEGO Mindstorms (with his school he entered the SW IET competition!) But LEGO is really expensive - so I'd be interested in other people's views?
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  • 0
    I must mention that while I was looking up how much Mindstorms costs these days I noticed that Argos have a really, really good deal on it at the moment! I have no affiliation with Lego or Argos so hopefully no-one will mind me posting that.


    If you can afford it, it is a fantastic system. I used to visit schools (as a STEM Ambassador) to teach 8/9/10/11 year olds to programme it and it was hilarious - before i started I'd explain to the teachers what I was going to do, and almost always they told me that it was too complicated and the children wouldn't get it. Not only did they always get it, they'd very often find things it would do that I didn't know it could do!


    Personally I'd have thought Arduino is a bit "unfriendly" for a 9 year old (much though I personally like it, and it is nice and cheap), but I'd be prepared to be persuaded otherwise. I've always felt that Raspberry Pi ends up quite expensive by the time you've made it do anything, but I notice it does seem to have got rather cheaper now.


    Great idea Nigel, I look forward to seeing what other ideas come up here!


    Thanks,


    Andy
Reply
  • 0
    I must mention that while I was looking up how much Mindstorms costs these days I noticed that Argos have a really, really good deal on it at the moment! I have no affiliation with Lego or Argos so hopefully no-one will mind me posting that.


    If you can afford it, it is a fantastic system. I used to visit schools (as a STEM Ambassador) to teach 8/9/10/11 year olds to programme it and it was hilarious - before i started I'd explain to the teachers what I was going to do, and almost always they told me that it was too complicated and the children wouldn't get it. Not only did they always get it, they'd very often find things it would do that I didn't know it could do!


    Personally I'd have thought Arduino is a bit "unfriendly" for a 9 year old (much though I personally like it, and it is nice and cheap), but I'd be prepared to be persuaded otherwise. I've always felt that Raspberry Pi ends up quite expensive by the time you've made it do anything, but I notice it does seem to have got rather cheaper now.


    Great idea Nigel, I look forward to seeing what other ideas come up here!


    Thanks,


    Andy
Children
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