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1 | # Raspberry Pi Foundation — What is a Raspberry Pi? |
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3 | *A companion page to [Workshop 1 Hardware and Networks](/dt7/Workshop%201%20Hardware%20and%20Networks). Inspiration video referenced in the Workshop 1 booklet as `way2.cc/caa`.* |
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| 5 | In Workshop 1 you booted a Raspberry Pi, plugged things into it, and probably typed your first terminal command. This video zooms out: what is the Pi for, who builds them, and *why is a credit-card-sized computer running everything from weather stations to the International Space Station*? |
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| 7 | The Foundation team gives you the official tour in about 4 minutes. After watching, you'll understand why a Pi is more than just "a small computer for kids" — and why hobbyists, researchers, and even NASA reach for one when they need a tiny computer that does real work. |
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| 9 | --- |
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| 11 | ## The Video |
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| 13 | {{Video|src=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXUjwk2-qx4}} |
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| 15 | About 4 minutes. The official Raspberry Pi Foundation overview — what the board is, what people build with it, and the educational mission behind the project. |
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| 17 | --- |
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| 19 | ## What to Watch For |
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| 21 | - **The variety of Pi models** — Pi 5, Pi 4, Pi Zero, Pi Pico. Same family, very different sizes and prices. The Zero is smaller than a stick of gum; the Pi 5 is a full Linux desktop machine. |
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| 22 | - **What "$35" means** — the original Pi was built so a school could buy one for the price of a textbook. Even the latest Pi 5 (8 GB) is under $100 AUD. Cheap is the whole point. |
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| 23 | - **Real projects** — weather stations, retro game consoles, robots, art installations, satellites. Look for the variety; a Pi isn't designed for one use case. |
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| 24 | - **The Foundation as a charity** — the Pi exists to teach computing, not to make money. That's why the docs, code, and tutorials are free. |
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| 25 | - **GPIO pins** — that 40-pin header at the top of the board is the difference between a Pi and a regular laptop. It's how the Pi connects to sensors, lights, motors, and the physical world. |
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| 27 | --- |
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| 29 | ## <i class="fas fa-lightbulb"></i> Have a Go |
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| 31 | ::: info |
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| 32 | **<i class="fas fa-pencil-alt"></i> Your turn!** Grab a pen and have a crack at these. |
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| 33 | ::: |
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| 35 | **<i class="fas fa-film"></i> Question** ① — Name three things people build with Raspberry Pis (from the video, or from your own knowledge after watching). |
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| 37 | **<i class="fas fa-microchip"></i> Question** ② — A regular laptop and a Raspberry Pi 5 both have a CPU, RAM, and storage. What does the Pi have that a laptop *doesn't* — and what can you do because of that? |
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| 39 | ::: tip |
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| 40 | ⚡ **Hint:** Look at the top edge of the Pi board. There are 40 metal things sticking up. |
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| 41 | ::: |
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| 43 | **<i class="fas fa-lightbulb"></i> Question** ③ — The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charity. Their mission is to make computing accessible. Why do you think a tiny, cheap computer is a better way to teach kids about hardware than a full laptop? |
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| 45 | **<i class="fas fa-rocket"></i> Question** ④ — Pis are on the International Space Station running real experiments. If *you* sent a Pi to the ISS, what experiment would you run? (Be specific — what sensor would you attach, what would the Pi log, what would you learn?) |
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| 47 | --- |
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49 | See also: [Workshop 1 Hardware and Networks](/dt7/Workshop%201%20Hardware%20and%20Networks) · [Tom Scott - Fetch Execute Cycle](/dt7/Tom%20Scott%20-%20Fetch%20Execute%20Cycle) · [Crash Course - Binary](/dt7/Crash%20Course%20-%20Binary) · [Vox - Undersea Cables](/dt7/Vox%20-%20Undersea%20Cables) |
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| 51 | *Last updated: April 2026.* |
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54 | ← Back to [Year 7 Hub](/dt7/Year%207%20Hub) |
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