Piper Computer Kit
© 2015 Piper, Inc.
Minecraft meets Raspberry Pi (plus an assortment of wood, a 7 inch screen, wires and switches) with Piper Toolbox, a DIY kit that requires (and celebrates) assembly. You can use the physical electronics to control a buggy, as you drive through a leveled set of challenges in a Minecraft world. The problems require physcially assembling electronic parts. Contents of the kit include a 7 inch LCD display, a power supply, and an assortment of electronics. After the kit is assembled, you see an adventure map in Minecraft on the LCD screen. Tutorials help you with the building process, and you get power-ups and abilities in the game. Created by Shree Bose and Mark Pavlyukovskyy, a Piper kit was initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign.
$299, Smart Toy
Teaches: STEM, robotics, electronics, programming