Fundamental knowledge of how computers work is essential for many future careers. For $300, the Piper Computer Kit promises to teach children computer science concepts. At that cost, it needs to be perfect. Is it? No. But it’s close.
I’ve spent a good deal of my career around computers. I’ve worked in computer repair, software development, and tech journalism. As such, my seven-year-old son is no stranger to technology. But I’ve run into a problem: thanks to devices like smartphones, tablets, and all-in-one desktops, he’s convinced that all screens are computers. Whether it’s the dumb TV in my bedroom or the monitor in my office, he can’t grasp why they can’t simply load up his favorite iPad app, an Xbox game, or stream Netflix.
I’ve tried explaining it to him, walked him through my desktop connected to the computer, but nothing ever clicked. That’s why I was excited to try out Piper’s computer kit. Piper shouldn’t be confused with Kano, which focuses heavily on coding and software development. Piper hits the other things, how hardware works, and how that hardware interacts with code. And it all starts with building a computer. Well, at least the shell of a computer.
I Can’t Believe He Built It Solo
The Piper Computer Kit arrives in pieces, and it’s up to you (or preferably your child) to assemble it. Piper says it aimed its computer kit at children eight and up, and my son only just turned seven. So I was somewhat worried the Piper kit would be too difficult for him. He does build Lego sets on his own, but this is a whole different beast. I thought I’d have to help at every stage, or worse, complete it when he grew bored.
I’m happy to say my fears were completely unfounded. I want to say that’s due to my son’s Lego experience, but a lot of credit goes to the company as well. The kit comes with a large Blueprint poster with clear illustrations and labels. The company labeled every piece according to the step it belongs to (1-1, 1-2, 1-3, etc.), and all screws and connectors come in labeled bags.
For the most part, I stayed hands-off. To start, I helped my son orientate pieces to the Blueprint, but he figured that out quickly as well. The only thing I did was sort the screws, and that was just to speed things along. My son connected the pieces, inserted nuts, and drove all the screws.
The process isn’t an exact computer build, though. Essentially, your child will build a shell that houses a Raspberry Pi 3, monitor, speakers, mouse, and cables. Since it’s a Raspberry Pi powering the computer, your child won’t insert ram, attach a hard drive, or connect fans. But that process (followed by the next steps I’ll get into later) finally got the difference between a monitor and computer to click for him—a big win in my department.
Most importantly, he stuck with it. I’ve purchased a lot of different STEM-focused projects (that’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) in the past, and typically, he quickly grows bored of assembling gadgets. I usually finish on my own then pull him back in for “the good parts.” But that didn’t happen here. Despite the build process taking the better part of two hours, he stuck it out until the end. He was excited to see his progress and wanted to finish “his computer.”
No Keyboard is Good Thing—Mostly
Upon finishing the computer assembly, I was surprised to realize it came with a mouse but not a keyboard. The kit comes with a preformatted microSD card with the Raspberry Pi OS, Minecraft Education, and Piper’s software. We turned it on, and the screen didn’t work. I took it apart, reseated the cables, and the next time the screen worked. But the OS didn’t. One more restart, and everything was fine.
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