Introduction
I have always been intrigued by the way the digital devices around us seem to work, like they are some sensible humans. They can start/stop on their own, perform tasks as per our descretion, and sometimes outperform us ☺️ .
In my college years, I took the 8086 microprocessor class with keen interest. It brought me immense pleasure to see how simple instructions to these chips could show results like turning LEDs on and off. This was my very first and very basic ‘getting to know’ of digital world in action.
The emotions are still fresh, and equally intense. I still try to relate the working concepts of devices, home appliances, gadgets etc with the functioning of our much evolved and super fast microprocessor chips now.
This bug has been inherited by my kids as well. They are inquisitive to learn about the intelligence of all the technology around. And we need to feed answers to this hunger, don’t we ☺️ ?
Why Raspbery Pi ?
On this never ending journey of finding answers to infinite question, in technology domain ☺️, I came to know about this popular microprocessor, Raspberry Pi .
There are some pertinent reasons why this chip is a favourite of many researchers, amateurs, developers and students. For me, the prime reason was the ease of getting things to form into conceivable outcomes.
The chip, its casing, fan, heatsink, power supply etc are easily available. They are within the reach of your pocket. They also have adequate online support, that actually works.
How To Get The Necessary Hardware?
Well, it is upto you how you want to get going. For me, it was a mix of getting somethings from Amazon, a few peripherals were at home, and a few items were reused.
Raspberry Pi , additonal power adaptor, micro SD card + adaptor and protective casing can be easily procured from Amazon.
Other periperals like monitor with HDMI support, USB keyboard and mouse can generally be found at home ( atleast in mine ☺️ ) . Get those or buy new ones from your neighbourhood market/online .
Steps To Get It All Working...
2. The casing of Raspberry Pi comes with instructions for assembling. But it is also useful to watch some online video along.
1. First and foremost, gather your kids and all the necessary apparatus. See the excitement and questions in their eyes, and get all pepped up ☺️☺️ .
3. Affix the heat sinks on the board, there will be 3 of them. You also need to carefully adjust the fan, and connect it to the chip pins.
4. Your micro SD card should be ready with the bootable NOOBS software. You can find the installation instructions online. They are easy to understand and follow.
5. Insert the microSD card in its slot. You can find USB ports on the newly assembled Raspberry Pi, insert the mouse and keyboard USB connectors here. Get HDMI cable and connect the monitor to it.
6. Get your power adaptor, and connect it on the device. Now, we are pretty much ready to give life to our creation and see it in action ☺️ .
7. Power up the system. You will see the messages on screen, asking for permission to install Raspbian, Linux based Raspberry Pi OS. Follow these intuitive instructions, and your system will be ready for use in a short while. Keep the kids involved in the entire process, as the whole idea is to get them to grasp the concept of hardware/software integration. They should see everything happening ☺️ .
Before Wrapping Up…
You will find some basic educational programming games and software, for kids to grasp computer related concepts. ‘Scratch’ is one of them. There are innumerable things that kids can learn, depending on needs and interests.
For yourself, if you like to try building new stuff, you can start projects using Raspberry Pi. You can come up with your own idea, or find many online. Overall, a very gratifying activity.
If you have any questions regarding the setup, do comment ☺️ .
Like the article if you found it interesting ☺️ .
Pooja's Tech Central 