Ok.  You’re convinced.

Unable to add item to Wish List. My son likes computers, but I have no idea how to help him learn more?

Simple as Lego, Pi 2 inside. Many kids have no concept about the components in their devices or how basic things like network connections and file systems work. As we walk through in more detail below, there are two specific computer kits we’ve used that are geared for kids. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Build your own website, … It’s LEGIT! A computer kit is basically all the components you need to assemble a functioning computer packaged together… just not assembled together. Prime members enjoy unlimited free, fast delivery on eligible items, video streaming, ad-free music, exclusive access to deals & more. Our featured kits:  Piper vs. Kano Computer Kit, Comparing Piper and Kano Computer Kits: Specifications, Rolling up the sleeves – Building a Piper Computer Kit, Rolling up the sleeves – Building a Kano Computer Kit, Rolling up the sleeves – Building a Raspberry Pi kit, Conclusion – Piper may appeal more to younger kids, but we like the Kano Computer Kit, a Raspberry Pi kit currently offered on Amazon, Piper – Minecraft Pi edition like this one, Make a RetroPie with old school video games, The Ultimate Guide to Coding Websites for Kids, Math Board Games Your Kids Will Love (But Won’t Realize They’re Practicing Math), Raspberry Pi 3 Model B with 1GB RAM and a 1.2GHz Quad Core CPU, 2.5A USB power supply with micro USB charger, Speaker with system that includes 3.5mm headphone jack. This computer kit is a great learning tool if you can get past the frustrations.

Excellent starter kit for the novice computer enthusiast. We don't send out emails often, but when we do they are action-packed recipes for fun. Give them something to work on after their computer is built! Make games, learn to code, and create the future. Yay! Our kids previously worked with a Piper – Minecraft Pi edition like this one and the Kano computer kit here. What EXACTLY did they like? The drawback would be the Complete kit holds a good degree of “cool” factor. A simple, Raspberry Pi kit could be a cheaper alternative to either the Piper or the Kano Computer Kit, however this is unlikely to be suitable for younger kids or kids without much tech background. Don’t just play Minecraft, hack it to do something new.

If you have a 10-12 year old who already has some exposure to coding, or who’s interested in learning more about coding, then this could be a very neat option. Your question may be answered by sellers, manufacturers, or customers who purchased this item, who are all part of the Amazon community. Our kids lean towards the Piper system as their favorite. We are talking bare bones here. For example, both use a Raspberry Pi computer. The table below highlights the similarities and differences between the two kits, as well as a Raspberry Pi kit currently offered on Amazon that is like an older one we purchased at a local Micro Center. It comes with a microphone so lights become animated from sound. Kano Computer Kit – Make a computer, learn to code, play. This computer kit is a great learning tool if you can get past the frustrations. Find answers in product info, Q&As, reviews. We demystify technology. Can only be purchased through Kano.me and sarts at the end date of the included Kano One Year Warranty. Especially if you as a parent have limited experience.
Overall, there are many similarities across the core components for the Piper and the Kano. A super cool and awesome Linux-based operating system also lets you do a ton of super cool programming projects. The instructions are heavy on the figures and light on the text, so this should be accessible to a broad age range. My child wants to learn more about coding…  let’s build our own computer! Learn to code. Kano is the capital city of Kano State in North West zone of Nigeria.It is in the Sahelian geographic region, south of the Sahara.

While we didn’t encounter the same technical issues with the Kano, the Amazon reviews suggest this can happen there too. Sign up now! The packaging, the unboxing, the delivery attached to the Piper and Kano can’t be ignored. The Pixel Kit is a “smart” light box featuring 16 million colors that kids use to create different games and light shows.

(included). With that in mind, let’s compare the Piper and Kano computer building kits below. That can be done too! Ok.  I’m going to level with you…  This one is probably going to be the least appealing to younger kids. Sigh.

Our experiences with both were positive.
It wasn’t necessarily the “kit” itself that I think they were drawn to but rather the experience of the build, the challenges/games they played and being successful in a finished product. Why building a computer could kickstart your child’s STEM future, Starting Off:  Which computer kit is best for kids? The Piper computer kit appeared to win out, but it was really driven by the act of the build rather than technical aspects of the machine. Please try again.

What if you’ve NEVER built a computer before?

What we can say though is all of the manufacturers look very committed to making the kids’ experience a positive and memorable one, and they likely will do whatever they can to correct problems. Without further ado, let’s look closer at the individual kits:  Piper vs. Kano. What it does come with? STEMomma is a mother & former scientist/educator. For younger kids, building computers are fantastic for building excitement. Lastly, the Raspbian NOOBS operating system also arrives pre-loaded with Scratch and Minecraft to get those kids working right out of the gate. Play. In our past build, we’ve never interacted with Kano support.

Raspberry Pi 3-MODB-1GB Motherboard (RASPBERRYPI3-MODB-1GB), Intel Core i3-9100F 9th Gen Desktop Processor 4 Core Up to 4.2 GHz LGA1151 300 Series 65W (Discrete Graphics Required). At the time of the builds, the kids were in the 6-9yr old bracket with limited computing experience. Piper’s support team is very helpful so reach out if issues emerge and they should be responsive.

Please make sure that you've entered a valid question. From start to finish the entire build can be finished in a few hours.

We focus here on the Complete kit that has the screen/laptop version. Learn to code with 100+ step-by-step creative challenges.

DON’T! The Kano portion of the computer does not work unless it is online, either wirelessly or through an Ethernet connection. With a new board providing the fastest ever Kano experience, packed with the latest version of our new and improved OS - full of content and challenges for budding creators. That’s where computer kits come into play.

Specifically, our kids enjoyed the Piper components more. Assembling a functional computer is no small feat. These days, saving money isn’t the biggest driver. There are interfaces so kids can work with outside programs like Codeacademy and work on more advanced coding projects. I think the generic Raspberry Pi kit route is definitely the cheapest route to go. It felt like they were legitimately constructing something “real”. Once you get Kano assembled and powered up, get ready for a TON of coding challenges and apps within the system that kids can work on. **Note:  Be sure to check out our post on coding websites for kids if your kids are new to coding – it’s packed with a range of free and paid options that are designed to teach kids about programming. Kano Computer Kit – Make a computer. So you can make the world do something new. Kids can access apps like YouTube and Google Docs so it still has the functionality of a real machine. The build process incorporates a story-based approach that introduces kids to what the various pieces are, what they do, and why they are important (“this is the brains”). And especially, if you cruise through a Best Buy or Walmart, you’ll see plenty of inexpensive systems and Chromebooks. While the Kano Computer Kit build required less effort, the games seemed more appealing to them.

The heart and soul (or rather brain I guess) of these computer kits is something called a Raspberry Pi.

Not to mention, showing off a pretty cool finished product to friends and family. For older kids, with stronger tech skills, I’d consider going with a Raspberry Pi starter kit and hooking it up to an old TV or monitor. Example – we built a Raspberry Pi-powered tablet with a touchscreen. She loves to find creative, fun ways to help engage kids in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). Kano OS Apps - Code; Kano OS Apps - Tools; Booting into Kano OS (Dashboard Mode and Classic Mode) See all 20 articles General - Computer Kit, Computer Kit Complete, Computer Kit Touch.