Did you know that STEM and STEAM programs are some of the top-funded and promoted programs within public, private, and charter schools? And this is not only across the United States but also around the world. Technologies have vastly and quickly increased in the past. Many schools’ curricula have to adapt to the growing number of jobs in technology. Fortunately, STEM and STEAM programs allow kids to construct electronic devices. Kids learn how to code, build robots and remotes, conduct computer programming models, and so much more.
This is where the company Piper comes in. Piper is an EdTech company that has made learning all of these things fun and creates skills in truly invaluable kids. Piper was established in 2014 and has since won many innovation awards to create and implement STEM-based products in both schools and gameschooling.
Companies like Piper allow children to learn computer programming and engineering from the comfort of their own homes. Learning from home is an important factor now as we are in the throes of a worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. Many schools don’t know when students will grace the halls of their building once again, and some wonder if it will ever be the case again.
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Why Would I Want a Piper Computer Kit for my Child?
Aside from the fact that this is an educational tool, clear and statistical facts constitute why products like this are great for your child. According to a study by Dell Technologies, 85% of the jobs that will exist in the year 2030 have not even been created yet. Did you hear that? 85%! Basically, everything children are learning in school, and most of what teachers are teaching will be used in jobs that none of us know how to prepare children for. In reality, this is a truly humbling and sobering thought.
However, there are several things that we do know. 1. technology isn’t going anywhere. 2. technology is only going to become more prevalent in everyday life. 3. as much as it seems technology is running the world, there will still need to be people to create and program. With that said, companies like Piper are actually bringing about products that will ultimately help all of us give kids a basic understanding of things the previous generations would not know anything about.
All of the Piper Kits
Every Piper computer kit and gaming kit is geared toward teaching kids basic computer programming skills. These kits come with all of the components needed to construct a computer, build a gaming device, or program with specific things in mind. The main component of these computer kits, specifically, the Raspberry Pi 3 computer guts allows kids to connect to wi-fi, play Minecraft, and use other types of skills. While many of these various computer kids may seem a bit pricey, they truly will give your child a heads up in the world of technology and potential in life.
Piper Computer Kit
Have you ever wanted to build your own computer, or have you ever wondered how this is put together in the first place. Well, here is your chance to figure all of that out! The Piper Computer Kit comes with all of the components to build your very own computer, complete with an LCD screen, mouse, wiring, and more.
Included With the Kit
- 9″ screen with 1024×600 screen resolution
- 11 PiperCode coding projects in both English & Spanish
- DIY Integrated Speaker
- Rechargeable battery that can work for up to 5 hours
- Raspberry Pi 3 single-board computer (1.2 GHz Quad-Core 64 bit CPU)
- Student assembled controller
- Laser-cut wooden pieces
- Micro USB charging cable
- Nine Raspberry Pi Edition of Minecraft story mode levels with eight games
- All hardware, screws, buttons, switches, and breadboard
- Blueprints for putting together the computer
The Piper Computer Kit is truly remarkable. Whereat the end of putting it all together, your child will have literally built a computer that they can play games on for hours. That is if you let them play games on it for hours. While the blueprints and all of the instructions and wooden pieces and wires may seem totally overwhelming when this first arrives, remembered that everything here is geared toward kids and putting together real electronics that actually work.
View on AmazonMini Piper Computer Kit
This NEW Piper Mini is a great way to get your kids involved in understanding all of the ins and outs of building and programming a computer for a third of the actual Piper Computer Kit price. What makes this kit the “mini” is that it does not come with its own screen and HDMI cables. You still get all off the fun of being able to build the guts of a computer without having to spend the extra cash for the frills of an attached screen.
Included With the Kit
- USB/Micro USB Cable
- Raspberry Pi 3 (story mode, Piper code, SD card)
- Breadboard components (switches and buzzer)
- LEDs
- Mini breadboard
- Buttons, jumper wires, and mouse (with USB ports)
- Power adapter/battery pack
- Lasered wooden cutouts
Have a quick look at this video to the details inside the box:
Your child will love being able to play Minecraft with the Raspberry Pi version of Minecraft story mode, Minecraft mini-games, as well as Minecraft creative mode projects. Do you see a Minecraft game trend here? As with the previous project, everything you need (other than the monitor and HDMI) comes in the box. This would be a fantastic project for two people to do together or for your child to do individually.
Piper Gamer Bundle
Is your child a gamer? If so, they will love this new Piper Gamer Bundle that allows them to build an all-new remote controller with a light show switchboard. This particular section of the website seems very confusing when it comes to completing each section of this gamer bundle. Obviously, you should know you will be putting in a great deal of time when putting together these different aspects.
Included With the Kit
- Piper Command Center
- Piper Light Show
- Electronics (buzzers, switches, wires, buttons, lights)
- All laser-cut wooden pieces.
- Instructions and blueprints
Once your child has finished building all of the different components, they can use them to play a game with their control or power cool light shows. Review all electronics that come with these items to ensure you don’t need to purchase anything separately ahead of time.
Piper Light Show
The Piper Light Show is an add-on to the Piper Command Center. All of those things together make up the Gamer Bundle as listed above. However, the command center and your own computer are required to make this work in the first place. It is a bit confusing when you first read it because it seems that these can all be purchased separately, but they are all needed for this to function.
Included With the Kit
- Hinged wood stand
- Phillips screwdriver for assembly
- 8×8 RGB LED Matrix
- Wood housing and screws
- Blueprints
One of the main things that are advertised to be able to do with this plus the command center is to design cool light shows. You can make coded messages with the lights, or completely program your own light show using this device.
What’s so Great About Raspberry Pi?
Basically, the Raspberry Pi 3 is the computer board that connects to your computer’s other components. This basic computer board is ideal for young minds who want to learn the basics of computer programming. This is why Piper uses this Raspberry Pi 3 board for its computer kits.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Piper Computer Kit, mini Piper Computer Kit, Gamer Bundle, and Light Show all together are a lot of really awesome components that help your child build all of the electronics that they use every day. These different kits are ideal for the eight-year-old child and up. Each kit-building project has the ability to keep your children busy for a long period of time while still allowing them to learn. Plus, they will love being able to play the Minecraft game they built.
Lastly, getting this for your kid may earn you some major props. The best advice we can give aside from giving all of the basics of the main building projects on Piper is to make sure you review each item, each price, and what you need to purchase outside of the kit. According to all of those things (price is a big one), figure out which one (or two…) would be the best option for you and your child.