Product Description Today's kids grow up with "black box" Phones, computers and gadgets that come in beautiful packages, but leave no room for tinkering or understanding how they work. At Piper, we believe it is critical to understand how technology works in order to make sense of our environment and invent the future. The Piper computer kit 2016 edition comes with everything you need to assemble your own computer. <The kit contains: ● wooden computer case with LCD display ● raspberry Pi 3 Project board. 1GB RAM. 1200 MHz quadcore CPU ● 8GB SD card that holds your game progress and keeps your creations safe ● cables to connect the screen, Pi and 6600 mah Powerbank together and electronic gadgets including LED lights, buzzers, buttons, switches, sensors and more ● 8 sq Ft laminated blueprint for assembly ● USB Mouse ● raspberry Pi edition of Minecraft ● Wi-Fi enabled to download new levels and sharing capabilities From the Manufacturer Perfect for Ages 8-13 Piper is designed to grow with your child. While kids from 8 to 9 enjoy the assembly of the components and building in Raspberry Pi Edition of Minecraft, children from 9 to 13 love programming new gadgets and levels. Regardless of your experience, we've created something that you can pick up and start inventing right away! Endorsed by the world's greatest inventors. The Piper Computer Kit was Inspired by the hackers and makers who invented the first computers and has been endorsed by Steve Wozniak. Steve said “I love Piper because it represents what enabled me to do all the great technology things in my life” BUILD Your budding inventor can assemble the 50+ puzzle-like pieces to make a beautiful wood case and power-up boxes. The kit comes with full scale blueprint instructions. Assembling your first computer is challenging and fun, so teamwork and cooperation is encouraged! CODE Each kit comes with the Piper learning system that teaches kids engineering and programming through a combination of engaging storyline, physical building, and Raspberry Pi Edition of Minecraft challenges. The increasingly challenging levels help teach new electronics and programming concepts step by step. CREATE Through Piper you can assemble complex electronic circuits and make programmable modules that interact with your Raspberry Pi Edition of Minecraft world. You can build real, physical electronics such as buttons, switches, LED lights, sensors, buzzers and more to design your own Raspberry Pi Edition of Minecraft dashboard which allows you to better control your character in the game. Piper’s mission is to empower the inventors of tomorrowby giving them the tools to build creatively today. When we were young, we were encouraged to ask questions and challenge assumptions. This led us to pursue world-changing ideas and desire to make the world a better place than we left it. We believe it’s important to encourage kids’ curiosity from a young age. We are creating products that inspire kids to see the world as malleable rather than static; to see technology as pieces and parts brought together by a higher vision rather than magical devices handed down from above. We believe that with the right tools and inspiration, anyone can become a creator. We are making the tools to inspire the inventors of tomorrow. What will you create? About the Startup Describe your product in 3 words. Empowering future inventors! How did you come up with the idea for this product? Several years ago, our team united around a common goal of creating products to make the world a better place. To do this at scale, we had to teach ourselves programming, electronics, and many other skills. These experiences taught us that learning the actual concepts is not difficult. Building a circuit or writing a line of JavaScript is not that difficult in itself. The difficulty comes from feeling intimidated by the task and from the perception of technology being too complex to master. The problem is actually an internal one. This is especially true for kids who are given iPads, computers, and phones to consume from a young age: they never see how technology actually works. Kids believe that technology works by magic, and later in life, when the opportunity to learn or build something tech-related comes up, they feel intimidated. With LEGO and Minecraft on the other hand, you can get started right away. It’s easy. This ease leads to confidence, which in turn leads to incredible creations. We wanted Piper to be the tool that allowed kids to create with code and electronics as simply as they place LEGO bricks or craft a diamond helmet in Minecraft. We created Piper to inspire the next generation of inventors and creators. What makes your product special? The Piper experience starts with assembling your wooden components into a computer case, which serves as your exploration base for crafting unique electronic modules into real, working gadgets. Piper gives you the ability to create with the latest, most advanced electronics components and concepts right out of the box. All Piper Computers come equipped with PiperUniverse, a revolutionary teaching system designed by Princeton and Stanford scientists to use the power of Raspberry Pi Edition of Minecraft to teach programming, engineering, electronics, and critical thinking. What has been the best part of your startup experience? Every single day, there are thousands of kids all over the world who change their perception of their abilities and what they believe they are capable of by building with Piper. Seeing the difference we make in the lives of these kids is both exhilarating and humbling.
R**N
An excellent concept; however, not flawless.
Your browser does not support HTML5 video. My wife and I bought the PIPER Computer Kit as a gift for our 11 year old daughter. Although the box claims the kit to be an average 8+ age suitability, I would rate it as follows:8-10 = Adult build with child inclusion.11-13 = Child build with adult supervision.13+ = Complete child build.The entire build took my 11 year old 2hrs 15mins.*It is important to note that we unboxed the battery and speaker the day before in order to acheive a full charge. The battery pack (green rectangular power pack with lightning bolt motif and 2x USB ports) took 6 hours, whilst the speaker only took about 1 hour for a full charge.I have noted a few pointers for buyers to consider:1) The screen comes fitted with a plastic scratch protective sheet. The screen arrives pre-clamped between two wooden bracket components and as such makes the release of the plastic protective sheet a little difficult without unscrewing the rear panel. Fear not! Just undo the 2x brass nuts at the back, lift the brackets off (remember positioning and realign serial bus lead with groove), peel off the protective sheet, and return the components to their original position. The screen should be fitted in the mount as originally provided.2) During instruction 5B you are told to use a 25¢ piece as a torque tool for the screen bracket mount to the main body. We don't all live in the US and/or have access to American coinage; therefore, a 0.8mm flat head screwdriver will do. I think the manufacturer could have gone to the trouble to provide a small metal piece to accommodate said coupling, albeit most likely lacking due to a cost cutting and weight reduction exercise. Nevertheless, have a flat head screwdriver at the ready, or the outside edge of a conventional household key should do the trick. All other tools and parts are provided in the kit.3) Make sure you pay close attention to the types of screws used for each stage. The instructions are clearly outlined; however, the excitement of the build can sometimes cloud the judgement and selection of components.4) Teamwork is paramount! I would say that anyone under the age of 13 will require some support in the build. There are a few finniky parts along the way; especially in the final composition of the nuts and screws of the screen/lid component. Perhaps a pair of tweezers might help along the way. Otherwise, just be patient with your MkI fingers and thumbs.5) Once the build is completed, you'll be left with a bunch of wires and components, all of which have no illustrated drawings, or blue prints. We decided to use the image on the front of the box as a guideline. Frustrated without instructions, we decided to turn on the unit and see what happens. Ultimately, all you need to do is finish the build and power up (having previously fully charged the battery and speaker). You'll be prompted to connect to your WiFi. Once connected, you'll see an icon with an option to update. Select this option and wait. If nothing happens and/or you are prompted to connect to your WiFi, just power off from the battery pack. Restart and you'll get the prompt to upgrade on the home screen. Select OK and wait. The update will take several minutes (15-30), do make sure you are fully charged on battery power. If not, the sudden shut-down at power loss can cause problems with the software. Note that there are 2 phases in the update procedure.6) Once up and running, the user can opt to play the Minecraft game (whereby the user will be shown how to wire the controller for use in the game), or the user can opt to try their hand at coding. Both will come with their own set of on-screen instructions. Hence why I advised you complete the build and don't worry about the wiring, or remaining components until you've turned the unit on and completed the necessary upgrades, etc.7) One last thing to note is that some of the wiring instructions during the coding levels may elude to numbers of colour coded wires not available in your bundle. Don't panic. Just use one of the other colours not needed in that setup. You'll have plenty of components for every coding/gaming build.Conclusion:Overall, this is an excellent learning tool for children aged 8+. There are a few elements which could do with some clearer instruction in order to manage expectations; however, for the few adjustments I'd say there are a few minutes of trial and error, or even common sense, which will help the user prevail.The battery power of the unit lasted for 5 hours of non-stop operation. The coding stages become increasingly more challenging, and the attention to detail becomes equally critical to the success of each coding stage.I believe the price point is fair given the quality of the components. I would not hesitate to recommend the PIPER Computer Kit with Raspberry Pie 3 and Quad-Core 1.2GHz processor to any of my friends and family seeking a great gift for an age range appropriate child.I've included some imagery to help with anticipation of size and build; notwithstanding a short video of my 11 year old daughter having fun during one of the coding stages.I trust this review has been informative. I would have liked to have read something similar before purchasing this kit, and as such hope that it may be of some help to someone in the future.Regards,R
B**R
We bought PIPER for our 8 year old son for ...
We bought PIPER for our 8 year old son for Christmas. He finished putting it together and finished all the missions by February. We got it back out today and decided to try giving them a call to see what else we could do. To our surprise "Tommy" answered and talked to our son about what he had competed and now sending him a speaker in the mail so he can turn his PIPER into an Alexa! He also told our son if he completes this mission to call back and he'll give him another one! My son hates school and says he hates to learn. But he LOVES his PIPER and doesn't realize how much he is learning. Thank you PIPER for challenging my son!
S**I
A "Must-Have" Kit for sure
Got our Piper today and its been a simply amazing experience for the kids. The 2 of them (8 and 6 year old) play way too many hours of minecraft (in my opinion) on a good day, but before now I've not managed to have them replicate the same level of interest with any of the several minecraft-based learning or modding tools we've tried.The way they've taken to Piper on the other hand has been great to watch. I suppose the joy of putting together your own computer, and physically upgrading it on the go as you play through the minecraft levels helped create a special experience for them.Awesome job guys
G**T
Very well thought-out and nicely engineered. Makes learning FUN!
A really well thought-out product for kids! I have an 11 year old daughter who loves to play Minecraft and aspires to be an engineer someday. My main concern about this product was that she'd find the game play to be unsatisfying compared to the 'full' Minecraft version. The product does in fact come pre-loaded with the Pocket Edition of Minecraft (like what you'd install on a tablet) so it is not the same experience as the full version. But having said that, I'd have to say that the way they integrate their custom missions and content is extremely well-done and offsets the limitations of the PE version of Minecraft well enough.Assembly was detailed, but again, well planned and documented with easy to follow 'blueprint' instructions. It took my daughter about 25 minutes to fully assemble the kit and power it up (with only a couple of snags along the way where she neglected something in the instructions and had to go back a step or 2 to fix the issue and then proceed). Once powered-up, the real fun begins with the on-screen tasks revealing limitations in the initial configuration (that the child quickly notices), but then provides solutions to these limitations as part of the game-play. My daughter was drawn-in immediately and spent hours working through various missions and gaining some insights into electronics and the basics of circuitry along the way. I highly recommend this product for kids that like to tinker!
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