I'm a bit of a nerd. I freely admit it. I was born this way and luckily, my father was more than happy to help me tear things apart, wire things up, and fail a lot while doing it all. I encouraged the same with one of my kids who loves to be creatively destructive.
What I didn't have while growing up but wish I did, was something like an Arduino. Arduinos are really cool for anyone with a curiosity about electronics, robotics, or programming. They are an awesome way to learn for people who are serious about learning this stuff. An Ardunio may look like a Raspberry Pi, but they're very different beasts.
The best thing about an Arduino is its price. They are cheap and Black Friday deals make getting a starter kit even cheaper than usual. I dug through the internet and found what I think is the best Arduino kit for anyone who wants to get into it all — SunFounder's Ultimate Starter Kit. It's on a special Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal for just $48 at Amazon.
SunFounder is a very well-known brand in the maker space and I've tried several of their project kits. Here you get everything needed to jump in and start — An Arduino Uno board, a breadboard for easy connections and prototyping, sensors, actuators, and even a chassis for an Arduino-powered robot.
More importantly, access to a comprehensive online beginners course is also here. It starts with the very basics and slowly introduces more advanced topics for a well-rounded introduction to electronics, robotics, and software development.
Arduino is a little more geeky than a Raspberry Pi, but it's a logical next step for some. Anyone with an interest or passion for coding can learn C++, a very difficult programming language, in a fun and engaging way. Once you have a handle on how it all works, you can do some really amazing and practical things.
You don't have to work for a tech giant to help build the Internet of Things. Do it from home with an Arduino, and have a lot of fun while learning.
