Looking for a fun and interactive way to teach your students about technology and programming? Step into the exciting world of Raspberry Pi projects, where students can learn practical innovations for real-world situations while having a blast!
What is Raspberry Pi?
Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer about the size of a credit card that is terrific to use in classrooms to teach students about coding, electronics, and computer science. It’s an excellent tool for demonstrating programming concepts, introducing students to electronics and robotics, and creating interactive projects.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
1. AirPlay Speaker
An old speaker turned into a wireless boombox makes group presentations and class discussions more engaging by sharing audio content, from music to podcasts.
Learn more: Raspberry Pi Zero AirPlay Speaker
2. Altitude Meter
Calculating measurements in physics class just got better. Use this BME280 sensor to estimate altitudes with air pressure readings.
Learn more: Measure altitude
3. Construct a Bug Habitat
Monitoring a bug’s life with a spy camera in these Raspberry Pi projects makes biology a lot more interactive. Students can even bring out their artsy creative side with some glitter poster paper to decorate an awesome insect home.
Learn more: Making a Mini Beast Habitat
4. Make a Drum Set
Absolutely everyone enjoys jamming out with common household items. A playable instrument is made with a Raspberry Pi and some alligator clips, and metal measuring cups may be transformed into playable instruments.
Learn more: Electric Drumset
5. Light Up Artwork
Art and science collide as your pupils include night-lights in their creations. Lights activate automatically at night in fantastic Raspberry Pi projects. Exactly what teachers of creatively inclined students need to pique kids’ interest in technology.
Learn more: Light Sensor Raspberry Pi
6. Invent an Interactive Toy
Teaching a lesson about magnets? Here’s a great and easy way to put them to use in the form of a DIY toy that resembles a doll or action figure that can talk, move around, or generate noise.
Learn more: Invent an interactive toy
7. Design a Greenhouse
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
A Raspberry Pi and an Arduino board make almost any plant in this controlled environment easy. Students may cultivate plants in optimum conditions at any time of year by regulating environmental variables like temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation.
Learn more: Greenhouse
8. Smart Mirror
Why check your phone in the morning when you have a magic mirror to look into? While they are in the bathroom touching up their hair and brushing their teeth, kids can check the weather, read the headlines, and listen to an inspiring speech all from the convenience of their mirror.
9. Build a Supercomputer
LEGO with Raspberry Pi boards? Not only is building your own personal computer rewarding, but students can also gain valuable insight into the inner workings of computers and the interconnections between their many components by constructing their own PCs.
Learn more: Supercomputer
10. Minecraft Pi
Minecraft mania is still prominent with kids and teens. And “Minecraft: Pi Edition” is a fantastic tool for getting children interested in coding and problem-solving in the classroom. Using the Python API, students can build houses that follow them around, roller coasters, and possibly their own room for “The Floor Is Lava” challenge.
Learn more: Getting Started With Minecraft Pi
11. Traffic Lights
The game Red Light, Green Light has had a technological makeover. Just connecting LEDs and buttons to the GPIO pins allows kids to control lights and inputs. A great way to show students how computer programming can be used in our everyday lives.
Learn more: LED light Raspberry Pi
12. Make a Pet Avatar
Students can learn about the scientific, technological, and engineering principles behind making an interesting pet while also developing their coding skills, creativity, problem-solving ability, and cooperation.
13. Bird Box
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
Like the bug habitat mentioned above, these are other Raspberry Pi projects that spy on our winged friends, especially at night. With a NoIR camera module and some infrared lights, students can study infrared and the light spectrum and how to aim the camera and operate it via software, all while observing birds in their natural habitat without disturbing them.
Learn more: Infrared Bird Box
14. Trip-Wire Fun
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
Make your own Mission Impossible with this entertaining laser trip wire and buzzer. Students can work out mathematical angles to make their own maze of lasers.
Learn more: Laser Tripwire
15. Wire Loop Game
Improve kids’ hand-eye coordination, focus, concentration, and problem-solving abilities while teaching them to build electronics.
Learn more: Wire Loop Game Scratch
16. Build a Robot Buggy
Source: Vanessa Loring via Pexels
Students learn to set up a motor control board as well as move a motor chariot around the classroom. Build an obstacle course, and let the races begin!
Learn more: Robot Buggy
17. A Weather Station
What will the weather be like tomorrow? Students learn about weather patterns in this interdisciplinary activity that integrates science, math, and technology. Collect and chart weather data using a variety of sensors.
Learn more: Build Your Own Weather Station
18. Record a Plant’s Health
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
Is there a plant doctor in the house? Have your kids learn how to measure the health of plants using pictures taken with a camera and special filters.
Learn more: Capture Plant Health
19. Grow Cress Egg Heads
Film a National Geographic–esque video in your classroom! Kids learn what time-lapse photography is, how cress seeds sprout, and how to make a time-lapse picture.
Learn more: Cress Egg Heads
20. Photo Booth
Say “Cheese!” Easy and a lot of fun. You can turn your Raspberry Pi projects into working photo booths by adding a screen, camera, flash, and printer.
Learn more: The All-Seeing Pi
21. Design Solar Street Lamps
Source: Nigel Borrington
Fuel students’ drive to be more environmentally aware. A great way to learn how to make a light that uses less energy.
Learn more: Real-Time Street Light
22. An Electric Skateboard or Scooter
The fun and practicality of electric skateboards and scooters make this an appealing project for many kids. Your students will use the Raspberry Pi project to write code that controls a small motor attached to a skateboard or scooter.
23. Wall-Mounted Digital Calendar
Playing on kids’ inability to ignore a screen on a wall, students will be put on the path of being organized and responsible with this digital calendar.
Learn more: Raspberry Pi Calendar
24. Make an Ambiance Mixer
Source: Pixabay
Whether it’s setting the mood for a class reading or bringing in some drama for a board game during a rainy day recess, students can create sounds to work the emotions in the classroom.
Learn more: Ambiance Mixer
25. Unicorns and Rainbow Dance Party
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
Yasss! Students can use LED light rainbows and code unicorns to dance around on the screen. So many possibilities for personal mix playlists!
Learn more: Dancing Unicorns and Rainbows
26. Spidey Trickster
A hilarious Halloween craft. Put together Raspberry Pi projects that play terrifying music and drop a spider from a box onto anyone under it when the button is pressed.
Learn more: Raspberry Pi Scarer
27. Robot Face
Technology with facial expressions. Build a robot’s face out of LEGO and mechanical parts. Then, use a machine learning model to help the face respond to different things.
Learn more: LEGO Robot Face
28. Create an Interactive Book
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
Using their creativity, students will be excited to form original ideas they can share with family and friends.
Learn more: Scratch Interactive Book
29. Film a Stop-Animation Video
Lights! Camera! Raspberry Pi? Students can animate anything they can imagine using LEGO, from a structure being built to characters performing a scene. Be amazed at how the class creates their own stop-motion animation movie with a Raspberry Pi, Python, and a camera module activated by a button linked to the Pi’s GPIO pins.
Learn more: Push-Button Stop Motion
30. Python Quick-Reaction Game
Can science lead to PE? Well, sort of. Wiring and writing programs to test their reaction times can improve your students’ athletic performance. Not LeBron James level, but we can try.
Learn more: Python Quick-Reaction Game
31. Make a Cat Tracker
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
Have your students ever wondered where the cat goes when they are at school all day? Now they can learn about a day in the life of a cat by tracking their fur babies.
Learn more: Find My Cat
32. The Modernized Radio
Source: Photo by Nothing Ahead
Most of your students will not have heard of this invention, but the challenge of upscaling something ancient with Wi-Fi could be just their frequency.
Learn more: Pi Internet Radio
33. Holographic Voice Assistant
Star Trek is within our reach with this 3D-form Alexa/Siri copycat. Teachers can delight in their students developing communication skills while coding.
Learn more: Maria
34. The Drone Pi
Source: Oleksandr Pidvalnyi via Pexels
Popular among students and educators, Raspberry Pi projects’ value lies in the fact that they give students a chance to delve into the fascinating world of drones and discover their many uses, from mapping and surveillance to deliveries and more.
Learn more: The Drone Pi
35. An Oscilloscope
Source: cottonbro studio via Pexels
Anyone interested in electronics, engineering, or physics can benefit from learning how to use this device that measures signals.
Learn more: Raspberry Pi–Based Oscilloscope
36. Possessed Portrait
A great creative reading for Halloween or after reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. Students build a haunted painting that follows its visitors with its eyes in an interactive art piece. A fascinating and entertaining way to learn about electronics, computer programming, and the arts.
Learn more: Living Portrait Player
37. Candy Dispenser
Candy is a great motivator, but technology and candy make learning more engaging. It’s great for showing appreciation for kids’ efforts while simultaneously teaching valuable lessons in mechanical engineering and problem-solving.
Learn more: Raspberry Pi Candy
38. Create a Digital Advent Calendar
Source: Torsten Dettlaff via Pexels
Each day leading up to Christmas reveals a new image with this digital advent calendar. It’s a hit with both students and educators thanks to its participatory and celebratory aspects.
Learn more: Sense HAT Advent Calendar
39. Design a Sense HAT Marble Maze
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
This entertaining activity will have your students constructing a real-world maze and monitoring the progress of a marble ball with the help of a Raspberry Pi Sense HAT. These Raspberry Pi projects stimulate innovation and cooperation while teaching practical coding and problem-solving skills.
Learn more: Marble Maze
40. Make an Electronic Puzzle Box
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
Users solve a series of puzzles to reveal the secret inside the box. Great for students to test one another’s problem-solving skills and creativity.
Learn more: Sense HAT Puzzle Box
41. Tweeting Babbage
Students will love transforming a stuffed animal into a Twitter bot that automatically uploads photos to their profile. This cuddly toy combines the pleasure and learning of social media exploration with the teaching of coding, robotics, and electronics for a win-win for students and educators.
Learn more: Tweet Toy
42. Ultrasonic theremin
Source: hackster.io
Students make a musical instrument by using ultrasonic sensors. Designing and constructing can inspire students to think beyond the box in areas as diverse as music, electronics, and computer science.
Learn more: Ultrasonic Theremin
43. Temperature Log
Source: Scott Campbell
A gadget for keeping records of trends in temperature. Students learn how to analyze and record data, and professionals in industries like agriculture, food safety, and climate research gain valuable insights into temperature trends and swings.
Learn more: Temperature Log
44. Parent Detector
Students will be excited to use these Raspberry Pi projects to keep tabs on who has been in their room. They can construct a device to identify parents by using a motion sensor to start a video recording with the Raspberry Pi Camera Module.
Learn more: Parent Detector
45. An Automated Jack-o’-Lantern
Source: Karolina Grabowska via Pexels
This motion-sensored pumpkin can be a lot of fun. While promoting hands-on learning, it provides an engaging activity during the Halloween season.
Learn more: Halloween Raspberry Pi
46. An Android Things Lantern
Source: Ahmed Aqtai via Pexels
A video projector with laser illumination can greatly benefit class presentations. Students create projects in which digital information is displayed on real-world surfaces.
Learn more: Android Things Lantern
47. Stress Buster
By making a button to control their own animated stress ball, students can improve their creativity and technology skills while learning ways to deal with stress.
Learn more: Raspberry Pi Stress Buster
48. 3D LED Science Display
Students can learn about how technology and science work together through this project, and both teachers and students will enjoy the chance to show off their skills and imagination in an eye-catching way.
Learn more: 3D Science
49. Make a Guitar or Violin
Source: Akshar Dave via Pexels
Music and computer science merge as students make creative choices on how to wire a musical instrument.
Learn more: Scratch Musical Instrument
50. Design an LED Game
Make a game out of exploring electric circuits.
Learn more: LED Game
51. Sense HAT Music Player
Source: Robbie Lodge via Midjourney
Make an MP3 player with a Raspberry Pi and a Sense HAT. Students will be able to switch between songs on their playlists, change the volume, and show a cool disco display on the LED grid.
Learn more: Scratch MP3 Player
More Raspberry Pi Ideas
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Need more resources? Check out our article Important Skills Kids Learn Through Coding!
Are you planning on doing any of these Raspberry Pi projects with your students or on your own? Tell us about it in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook!
