Raspberry Pi For Kids For Dummies

Richard Wentk

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781119049494
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Hardware
• Index: Computer Science

Getting acquainted with your Raspberry Pi has never been sweeter

Raspberry Pi For Kids For Dummies makes it easy for kids to set-up, operate, and troubleshoot like a Pi pro! Introducing you to Pi through a series of entertaining and inspiring projects, this handy, step-by-step guide shows you how to write computer games, build websites, make art and music, create electronic projects, and much more! From downloading the operating system and setting up your Raspberry Pi to creating art in Tux Paint and designing games with Scratch, everything you need to have fun with Pi is inside!

Raspberry Pi For Kids For Dummies leaves the confusing tech talk behind and explains in plain English how to unleash all the cool possibilities of Pi, like playing Minecraft in Python, using HTML to make a website, managing and customizing your Raspberry Pi, playing music with Sonic Pi, and understanding and playing with the GPIO.

• Teaches the basics of Raspberry Pi in a simple and thorough approach
• Shows you how to zoom around Pi, all while learning valuable programming skills
• Offers tons of exciting projects to keep you engaged as you learn
• Includes instruction on everything you need to troubleshoot Raspberry Pi

If you're aspiring computer programmer age 8-18 and want to start having fun with Pi, look no further than Raspberry Pi For Kids For Dummies.

Week 1

Making a Pi

In this part, you’ll …

Find parts for your Pi

Create a mind for your Pi

Connect your Pi

Power up and get started

Use the desktop

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Chapter 1

Find Parts for Your Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a super-cool, super-small, super-cheap microcomputer. In fact, it’s a super-cool, super-small, super-cheap microcomputer board, and it doesn’t do much on its own. Before you can do super-clever things with it, you have to add some extras to build a Pi system.

Understand the Pi

The Raspberry Pi, shown in Figure 1-1, is a tiny computer developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation (www.raspberrypi.org). It’s much smaller than a Mac or PC — it’s almost exactly the same size as a credit card! And it’s also much cheaper. (Prices vary, but a Pi costs around $30 in the United States and between £20 to £30 in the UK.)

Figure 1-1

The Pi only comes in Raspberry. There is no Apple Pi, Blueberry Pi, or Pumpkin Pi. A lot of people like Raspberry, so that’s fine with Pi fans.

Here are a few of the things you can do with a Pi:

• Learn how computers work
• Make and play games
• Learn how to program
• Make web pages
• Make digital music
• Build simple electronic projects
• Design awesome Minecraft worlds
• Have a ton of fun!

What you can’t do with a Pi

Although the Pi is a fully working computer, it’s not a Mac, a PC, a tablet, or a games console. It’s not as powerful as more expensive computers. Here are some things you can’t do with a Pi:

• Run Microsoft Windows, or any Windows software
• Download and play apps or games from the Apple App Store
• Develop software for Windows, iOS, or OS X
• Use popular web browsers like Chrome, Safari, IE, or Firefox
• Play popular mainstream commercial games

Does that seem disappointing? It shouldn’t.

What you can do with a Pi that you can’t do with a bigger computer

To make up for it, you can do a lot of things with a Pi you can’t do with a bigger computer. For example, you can

• Wipe your Pi in minutes and start from scratch if you make a bad mistake
• Experiment with writing your own software
• Build projects that do useful things and save money
• Rewrite and customize all the software in your Pi
• Make your Pi do something at certain times of day, or on dates you choose, or when a sensor notices a change
• Connect thermometers, cameras, motion sensors, and other extras
• Leave Pi projects running 24/7 without using a lot of electricity

You can see now why the Pi is special. Unlike a PC or a Mac, it’s so small and cheap you can buy a separate Pi for every project. You can leave it running all the time. And it comes with a good set of simple tools for writing software — all free.

The Pi story explained

The Pi follows an old British tradition. Back in the 1980s, the UK led the world in computers and computer companies with fancy names, like the Spectrum, the Dragon, the Tangerine, and the Acorn. These computers were much less powerful than the Pi, but many kids learned how to program on them. Some of those kids became professional software developers, and one of them went on to develop the Pi.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation wants to help the kids of the 2010s follow the same route and to have fun along the way.

Discover the Different Pi Models

Pi boards come in different types (see Table 1-1). You need to know about the differences so that you don’t buy the wrong one.

Table 1-1 Comparing Raspberry Pi Models

Model	What It’s Good For
A	Out of date now. Don’t buy one!
B	Out of date.
A+	Smaller, cheaper, slower than a Pi 2. Only useful for special projects.
B+	Out of date. Get a Pi 2!
Pi 2 Model B	You want this one.

The older models are called the A and B boards. The newer models are called the A+ and B+ boards. As of early 2015, there’s an even newer, faster, shinier, and better board called the Pi 2.

Figure 1-2 shows a Model B+ and a Model B.

Figure 1-2

The boards are the same size, and they use the same software. But they have different numbers of connectors and other bits and pieces.

I’ll make it easy to choose: You want a Pi 2. The older models are out of date now. You can s...