Build a Computer Science Kit for Kids | Includes Electronics, Coding, Animation and Lessons in Scratch, Minecraft, Python | Ages 8 and Up

I expected to just be buying a course with materials and some hardware, but I feel like I invested into a resource for my niece to keep learning throughout her childhood, that will push her as far as she wants to go with it. Quick side note - What I found is there are intrinsic lessons learned throughout the course, particularly about reading instructions precisely and not skipping around, which is an unsung benefit of what's being taught in the course - you have to follow the instructions to make things work right, and if you skip something or cut corners, it's going to bite you at a later step - an extremely valuable lesson for a kid to experience early in life, in my opinion. Not to say you can’t just skip to the next lesson, but.... Basically it shows, by example, the value of focusing on a task for the benefit of delayed gratification. If I had learned that at a younger age, I may be writing this review from my yacht. Getting started with building the raspberry Pi, screwing on the protective case, and having everything in one spot to get started was super fun and engaging for my niece. While it was simple for an old IT guy like myself to figure out, she (7 years old), was able to follow along with the instructions and get everything set up with just a little bit of guidance on my part. There was a huge sense of pride and accomplishment beaming from her, and there's definitely the "cool" factor of her having built something when she got the Pi set up for her to start the courses. Starting the courses, the material is self-starting, in that she doesn't need any help to get to the next steps or chapters. Going step by step, she started making the animations in scratch, and got a real kick out of making the "sprites" (characters) do things based on how she set them up. It was really amazing to watch her go from having zero experience with a computer whatsoever, to two courses later (about an hour) she's laughing because she made the character go way off the screen and appear again after a few seconds. I particularly like how everything is on the Pi already and you don't need to get on the internet to enjoy all aspects of the course. The materials are updated online, so I personally downloaded the latest versions and put them on her Kindle, but that's not a requirement - it's all there already. The support I received when I reached out to Boolean Girl was absolutely phenomenal. I am the type of person that usually annoys support people with too many questions, but they are truly passionate people that put a lot of time and thoughtfulness into their responses, so now I feel like an expert resource for my niece. I know there will always be someone behind the scenes at Boolean Girl pushing the product to be better, and if there is ever an issue, I have absolute confidence it will be handled by professionals that really care about what they do.

This is my second Boolean Box. I got the first one 3 years ago during their kickstarter campaign and that first one is still going strong. My older child was 8 at the time, and so now that my younger one is 8, it was her turn to get one. Both my girls absolutely love this product. My older girl still uses hers all the time. She's moved beyond scratch to python now and even helps her younger sister out from time to time with projects. This kit has absolutely stood the test of time and is still going strong 3 years later so I didn't hesitate to get another one for my second kid. My 8 year old really liked putting the case together, and she was so excited to play with it that we didn't make it off the floor where she opened the box! I love this product, and I especially love that it was developed with girls in mind, but it's certainly not only for girls! As a software engineer for over 20 years, and a mom to two girls, I'm thrilled that someone has stepped up to make a challenging, fun and interesting kit that appeals to my kids. They were not really interested in any of the other similar products, but they both liked this one because it came not only with a computer but the additional accessories for building circuits and connecting the circuit board to their scratch programs. Another thing I appreciate about the boolean box is the ability for my kids to learn to program without having to be on an internet-connected computer. While you can access the projects that come with the kid on the boolean girl web site, I've found that having the tutorials on the ipad while the computer, itself, is offline to be a huge benefit. My kids have explored every corner of the box and I never have to worry they're going to stumble upon something they shouldn't. It also encourages them to think about a computer outside the internet, and now they have a much better understanding of how their iPads work. I'd highly recommend this product as an option for teaching kids to code.

We found this product because our 11 year old daughter enjoyed her coding club in school. Her instructor informed us that this would be everything she would need to continue learning using the skills she was using in her club. The pi and case are easy to assemble, hookup was easy enough. The included HDMI cord allowed me to hook the pi up to her TV as a display but I cannot figure out how to change the display settings as the desktop is too big for the screen. Once I connected to WiFi the web browser took us right to the booleanbox site where we easily accessed lessons. Looks like it will be a great product for her to learn with.

Really beyond my expectations. With so much time spent in front of a screen, my daughters are now fully engaged in how to make the screen work. They are actively building, coding and problem solving. And we had no idea about all the extras. The Booleen Box connected them to a whole community of science focused kids. Booleen Girl has a wonderful ambassador series where STEM professionals talk to the kids - like a virtual career day. They watched presentations by a Google engineer, a vaccine researcher and an inventor. Even better - its all free on their site. They also have both co-ed and girl-only classes. This is not some gadget that I put together and then collected dust. By combining the box with the presentations and the classes my kids were completely engaged. The classes show them all the fun things they can do, and the community reinforces their confidence and the idea that STEM is cool. Their confidence and skill is growing with each step along the way. I’m also learning a thing or two and get to see my children learning and having fun at the same time.

We tried many of the other computer kits in the market in an effort to focus our 8 year olds attention on technology. We ended up returning every other kit. This one was the only one she actually used the kit. She loved it. Very educational, easy to follow instructions and great end result. For the clowns reviewing this product with absurdly low scores for the title of the kit being aimed for girls but at the same time saying the kit was great, get over it and get over yourself. I'm not here to debate gender gaps. All I can say is our daughter loved this and I would absolutely recommend to other parents.

Opinion: Nothing wrong with this kit except the price. I'd encourage those looking to get their children into coding to buy these pieces separately at a better price. There is nothing unique about what is in this box and you can pick up a raspberry pi w/ header, usb keyboard and mouse (or use one you probably already have laying around), a breadboard /w wires/resistors for less than 50usd. The only software that is included that isn't open source is minecraft, which is 25usd. In fact, you don't even need the raspPi; you can load up scratch in a browser or download edublocks and python for free. If you are looking to get your girl(s) motivated about programming show them Lima Fried's youtube or read about the queen of carbon. Future STEM leaders should come from every background, but the linchpin in their motivation won't be another school kit that will go to the back of the closet in 2 months.

Very good product however it gets one star due to the non nuetral gender labeling.

We were looking for something that wasn't just another toy for our close friend's 9-year-old daughter - and wow did this fit the bill. I'm no software engineer but I didn't have to worry - the Boolean Box has been keeping her totally engaged and she's been working on it completely independently - no need for help from me! The "girl" focus of the Boolean Box is priceless - it's what has captured her attention so completely. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars, and I can't wait to see what she does with it next!