Matryoshka Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 When I asked my brother what my nephew wanted for Christmas, he said dn was interested in building a computer, and I thought some Arduino stuff might be a good fit. But I've only heard about this product about two weeks ago here on the Hive, and I have no idea where to start. And it's expensive! The obvious thing would be to get him the Starter Kit that's sold (Inventor's Kit, I think it's called now), but that's $100! I usually spend closer to $25-35 per nephew - his birthday's in Feb and I thought it could be a joint Xmas/Bday gift, but that's still steep, and I think it would be good to know he'd actually engage in the stuff before I blow that much. (and it wouldn't be fair to other dn to get so much of a bigger gift for his brother). If I bought less stuff, what should it be? I found this bundle on Amazon, and it suggests what looks like a good starter book to go with it, which together run a bit over $40, which is doable - would that work to get him started? Other suggestions?? ETA: If I get him the Uno board, will he see this as "building a computer" or "programming" one? There are Arduino boards one can buy and assemble that are referred to on their website, but it's hard to navigate and I can't seem to figure out which exact product they're referring to, much less where to buy it. And would that be something a 13-yo boy (who is actually historically not that much of a techno-geek, he's always been more obsessed with airplanes) could do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefront Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 This is and isn't an arduino but it works well for my kids creative. http://makeymakey.com/ It still might be to steep at 50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Depends on what he means by "build a computer." If he wants to put one together, it's not exactly rocket science. I used to build all mine until the bundles got cheaper than home-built. If he wants a decent computer, that's going to take some pretty serious money. If he wants to scrounge, then he could do it for free...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 Thanks. Dh said the same thing when I talked to him - I think we're going to get him legos and invite him over to build/take apart computers in the basement with dh. Dh has put together pretty much every computer we've got, so he knows what he's doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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