There are two growing waves taking place among kids ages 8-12.
The first is a fascination with Minecraft and the second is a concerted effort to introduce them to STEM. Minecraft was mostly spread on playgrounds by kids who spend hours each week playing and even watching other people play, whereas STEM has become a buzz acronym and a global initiative attempting to expose kids to engineering fields with strong job prospects. Some say Minecraft is distraction from homework, but many acknowledge Minecraft screen time as an effective bargaining chip to incentivize kids to focus on crucial academic subjects particularly those involving computer science and coding. 
Standing at the intersection of these two waves is Piper.
Piper is a company that created a “build your own” computer that you can use to play Minecraft. After you physically assemble the wooden computer, you proceed through a Minecraft storymode where each level is a mission that requires wiring motion sensors, LED lights, buttons, and switches to the Raspberry Pi computer board. Piper was built by engineers who believe that kids should be opening, tweaking, and customizing the technology around them.
Computer hardware for children resembles the food industry to the extent that we don’t think about the process behind the product. Similar to chicken nuggets cut into dinosaur shapes, iPhones and laptops are built to hide the technology working behind them. Although having hardware 
devices like this offer sconvenience, it robs people of the learning and breakthroughs that come from building with hardware. Currently, all of the engineering occurs on the software side that builds upon already finished hardware. The ratio of chefs to farmers has become dangerously skewed.
When Piper launched last year over Kickstarter it quickly spread among parents who were computer hobbyists hoping to turn their Minecraft obsessed children on to a past time they greatly enjoyed. After collecting an endorsement from Steve Wozniak and orders from tech icons with children like Elon Musk and others, the product became recognized by educators for its value in makerspaces, FAB labs, and STEM classrooms. After being piloted in 5 bay area schools (Synapse School, School of the Madeleine, Bullis Charter School, The Nueva School, and AltSchool Emerson), Piper is now unrolling a product built for the classroom. The Piper Block is a set of 4 Piper units with spare parts and curriculum-based instruction. If your school is located in the bay area and is interested in becoming a beta tester for the new Piper Block please email [email protected]
