9 Raspberry Pi Projects For Your Summer Vacation
The right Raspberry Pi project can make the summer fun and educational. Here are nine possibilities that fit the bill.
![](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt69509c9116440be8/bltd95f9fdffc54b840/64cb3e7fe717e62f368bc562/Minecraft_Screen.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
If you have a young person in your life, then you probably already know about Minecraft. More than a game, Minecraft is an online world that has been used to teach math, science, and programming in addition to its use for fun. With this project you can combine first steps in Raspberry Pi development with Minecraft for a system that should be exciting for anyone that's ready for the online world.
This is a great first project because it's very, very simple. Once you have the Raspberry Pi itself set up you download the project software (direct download link) and you're off. After you have the system up and running, all you have to do is find a 10-year-old to explain how to have hours of fun with Minecraft.
While it's often used as an embedded controller, the Raspberry Pi is all the "thinking" parts of a full general-purpose computer. That means that, with the addition of a few parts that you might well have lying around your spare room, you can turn a $35 Raspberry Pi into a complete all-in-one computer. It can be the least expensive, most educational way to get into Linux computing.
I know that I mentioned that summer was a great time to get outside, but sometimes it's hot or rainy -- and when it is, it would be great to let folks build their own computer before exploring an operating system that is common in server rooms around the world. Since the Raspberry Pi comes with a version of Linux that includes a full personal productivity suite, you can even use your new computer to get caught up on social correspondence or get some work done before heading back outside.
Ahh, the summer reading list. An umbrella on the beach, toes in the sand, and a book with precious little redeeming social value. If your books are more often listened to than read these days, then wouldn't it be nice to have a small, dedicated audiobook player that you could take to the beach without endangering your fancy tablet? Of course it would. That's why this Raspberry Pi-based audiobook player is a great summer project.
The originator of this project had an elderly relative in mind for the one-button interface, but the simplicity of the design makes it great for beach use, and the inexpensive collection of parts makes it perfect for rugged use. Beyond those points, some simple modifications can make the unit weather-resistant, so your summer books can stay as close as your headphones.
While the Raspberry Pi comes loaded with Linux, you have options when it comes to the operating system on the tiny board. One of those options is Windows 10 Core, and one of the projects that shows off the Windows 10 option is this nifty weather station built with a RasPi and readily available shields and sensors.
This project is a somewhat more advanced project than many of the others on my list because it has quite a number of steps. That makes it more complex, and more complex projects tend to require more discipline and patience than simpler ones. Once you've got the project complete you can then move on to data analysis and display, making this the sort of project that can continue to give you things to work on long after it's up and running.
Most of the press coverage of drones has featured airborne vehicles with four or more propellers. They are lots of fun, but there are many other vehicles that can benefit from autonomous electronic control. Take this robot boat for example. It provides training, fun, and the possibility of cool video in a single floating package.
One of the great things about many of the RasPi projects you'll see is that you don't have to build everything from scratch. In this project you can start the physical build with an inexpensive model boat and continue the software portion of the project with code that you download and install. It's a great way to build a project that gives you an excuse to spend time at the lake -- and even in the lake (for testing and fine-tuning purposes, of course.)
Summer is gardening time and nothing says "enjoy the bounty" like the sight (and sound) of someone creating the effect of a drum kit by whacking on a root vegetable. That sounds wrong, but there's nothing wrong with the Beetbox, a project that leans hard on the electronic principle of capacitance and the ability to trigger events based on changes in capacitance.
If you want to get kids involved, it's hard to beat root vegetables as attractions. With this project you can have Internet of Things fun with young people while teaching them about basic electronic principles. When you're finished with the project, you can take the beets out of the rack and broil them. Try them sliced about 3/8" thick, covered with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, some sea-salt, and fresh-cracked pepper, then roasted at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Then get some more beets, hook them up, and play a drum solo in celebration.
If you want to get a message through a noisy, chaotic electronic environment, Morse Code is still hard to beat. The problem is that so few people are taught More Code these days. You can help change that by making this cool Morse Code trainer that takes advantage of a single pin on the RasPi to control the generation of a tone.
There are several digital control techniques you'll learn with this project. It will still amaze the kids when they see how much fun it is to use a "language" that most adults won't understand.
By now, we were all going to live on the moon. At the very least, we were going to be able to take vacations there. That dream is on hold, but you can send your Raspberry Pi into "near space" (altitudes of around 30km or so) and get a solid idea of what's going on way up there.
This project uses a scientific balloon, but you will probably be able to use a moderately sized model rocket to launch the scientific instrumentation package into near space. Once you've succeed at launching this one a few times you can begin posting data and analyzing it in context with all the other data available from commercial and research launches.
Do you ever wonder what your pet does when the creature goes outside? Even if it stays inside a fenced perimeter? An instrumentation package that sits on your pet can answer your questions and provide a lot of data for study an analysis. Your IoT pet tracker can teach you a lot about the IoT in the process.
This one has a complete instrumentation package, including GPS and cellular data to keep track of location information and share that information with you. It will help you understand just what you pet does when it has no need for your presence.
That's it. A variety of projects based on Raspberry Pi can keep you and your family entertained for days. The great news is that you could buy a separate Raspberry Pi for each project and still not spend nearly as much money as you would for a good laptop computer.
What do you think about my list? Are you even now making your parts list so you can start to work on one of these project? Which one? I'd really like to know. I'll be happy to share my list of fun to come if you'll meet me in the comments.
Summertime, and the coding is easy. Well, if not easy, at least more accessible when you think about projects to do for your own enjoyment or as recreation with kids. The thing is, summer is the time for fun projects, and if they have something to do with the out-of-doors, so much the better.
The Raspberry Pi is one of the two platforms that has changed the do-it-yourself embedded control world. (The other? Arduino. I'll get around to the latest on that one in a future article.) Since the RasPi was introduced in 2012 it has gone through several revisions and a number of different versions, becoming more powerful, more capable, and smaller in the process.
In every case, though, the RasPi has remained a tiny Linux computer that can pack a lot of computation into a very compact package. Beyond the basic hardware and software capabilities, the platform has also generated a widespread and very active community that has been busy expanding the range of RasPi possibilities and sharing information on what can be done around this incredibly popular computer.
[See 8 Raspberry Pi Tools That Fire up Your Programming Skills.]
If you've been waiting to dive into the world of the Raspberry Pi, or if you have already dipped your toes into the RasPi realm and are looking for your next project, then here are nine possibilities to get you thinking, coding, and (maybe) soldering. Among these are some projects that are easy, projects that are challenging, and projects that will be perfect for modifying and turning into your very own creation.
I'm ashamed to admit that my own Raspberry Pi projects have been fairly tame, so far, but the research for this article has me thinking about things that need to happen on my workbench. What about you? Are you an active member of the Raspberry Pi "maker" community, or have you just thought about what you might do with one of these little powerhouse units?
Are there projects you've completed that you would like to share with the community here or projects on this list you think should have been ditched for an alternative? Let me know -- and let me know what you've got planned to get your Summer tech kicked off in the right direction.
Ready For A New Job? InformationWeek's hosted, searchable job board can help you find your next gig. Start your search today.
Summertime, and the coding is easy. Well, if not easy, at least more accessible when you think about projects to do for your own enjoyment or as recreation with kids. The thing is, summer is the time for fun projects, and if they have something to do with the out-of-doors, so much the better.
The Raspberry Pi is one of the two platforms that has changed the do-it-yourself embedded control world. (The other? Arduino. I'll get around to the latest on that one in a future article.) Since the RasPi was introduced in 2012 it has gone through several revisions and a number of different versions, becoming more powerful, more capable, and smaller in the process.
In every case, though, the RasPi has remained a tiny Linux computer that can pack a lot of computation into a very compact package. Beyond the basic hardware and software capabilities, the platform has also generated a widespread and very active community that has been busy expanding the range of RasPi possibilities and sharing information on what can be done around this incredibly popular computer.
[See 8 Raspberry Pi Tools That Fire up Your Programming Skills.]
If you've been waiting to dive into the world of the Raspberry Pi, or if you have already dipped your toes into the RasPi realm and are looking for your next project, then here are nine possibilities to get you thinking, coding, and (maybe) soldering. Among these are some projects that are easy, projects that are challenging, and projects that will be perfect for modifying and turning into your very own creation.
I'm ashamed to admit that my own Raspberry Pi projects have been fairly tame, so far, but the research for this article has me thinking about things that need to happen on my workbench. What about you? Are you an active member of the Raspberry Pi "maker" community, or have you just thought about what you might do with one of these little powerhouse units?
Are there projects you've completed that you would like to share with the community here or projects on this list you think should have been ditched for an alternative? Let me know -- and let me know what you've got planned to get your Summer tech kicked off in the right direction.
Ready For A New Job? InformationWeek's hosted, searchable job board can help you find your next gig. Start your search today.
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