3 Unique Holiday Builds to Empower Any Kid's Engineering Mind

Engineers and designers have a tough time explaining to children what they do for a living. This is specifically difficult for engineering parents — especially around the busy holidays.

A Raspberry Pi 5 SC1112 single board computer. (Image: DigiKey, Raspberry Pi)

We all know:

• Doctors make us feel better.
• Computer programmers write software — like video games.
• Paleontologists dig up bones to understand dinosaurs.

But an engineer, they — hmm — design new things? Use science to solve problems — maybe? Build systems like roads and buildings! No, that better describes construction workers. Engineers are much more about design.

In my experience, explaining engineering concepts to children requires a hands-on approach. Fortunately for engineering parents, especially those developing electronics, there is a fun and educational tool that can help explain what you do while expanding your kid’s interests — a Raspberry Pi.

These tiny computers are a perfect holiday gift and range in price between $30 to $100. They can be programmed to do anything a child’s mind can conceive and combined with various hardware — homemade, 3D printed, bought or otherwise — to design a custom product your kid helped design. This not only shows them what you do, it may convince them to follow your footsteps. So, here are three products, tailored to your kid’s interests, that you can both build with Raspberry Pi:.

1. A smart (read: magic) mirror for the makeup artist, fantasy fan or more

By combining a picture frame, mirrored window film, a computer monitor and a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, maker Ben Eagan designed his own smart mirror. In this format, it would be a perfect design for any makeup enthusiast. Imagine them applying makeup while following the instructional YouTube video playing within the mirror. Eagan also added Alexa voice control to his build. This would be a great feature if your kid is into fantasy. If your kids prefer things to be spooky, perhaps this similar build of a possessed portrait might be a better option than the mirror?

Either way, this build is customizable to your kid’s interests. It could be built with glam and style to evoke the runway. It could be made to respond to “Mirror, Mirror.” It can even conjure dreams like Hogwarts’ Mirror of Erised. That’s up to your kid to decide.

2. A hydroponic farm for a gardener, environmentalist, chef or astronaut

Hydroponics is a method used to grow plants without soil via nutrient-rich water solutions. Many modern interpretations of this method utilize vertical structures to expand yields by planting up instead of horizontally. Overall, vertical hydroponics tend to use less waste, space, resources, fertilizers and labor than traditional farming methods. Better yet, according to maker Paul Langdon, it can be automated using two Arduino UNOs and a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.

Hydroponics could unlock the future of green farming, making this an ideal build for a gardener or environmentalist. They’re also used by chefs to ensure the freshest ingredients grow within their kitchen. The technology has also been floated as a means of survival in space. All of these topics are popular with kids and prove this build is a great activity.

3. A custom laptop for the hacker, web citizen or cosplayer on the go.

Perhaps the most ambitious Raspberry Pi build is a laptop or personal computer. Fortunately, Andrew Cunningham has shown it to be possible to fully replace a PC using a Raspberry Pi 5. Meanwhile, Dream Runner proved these computers can fit the size of a netbook — remember those? — or smaller.

Aspiring hackers (white hats of course), hipsters and web citizens would love nothing more than to walk around with a truly unique system. And since this laptop could look like anything, this project is also perfect for cosplayers. The outer shell of the computer can be made to look like Pokémon’s Pokédex, Star Trek’s Tricorder, Batman’s wrist computer, a cyberpunk necessity or a steampunk masterpiece. If your kid has a fandom, Raspberry Pi can win a best cosplay award at any con.

What will your kid design?

These examples are truly the tip of the iceberg. Got a kid that loves video games? Build a Minecraft server or a retro game console. Got a bookworm? Help them design a custom e-reader. Got a teenager begging for privacy? Show them you respect their space with an intelligent door lock. Got an animal lover? Help them protect their buddy with a GPS pet tracker. Music, drones, chess and robots — the options are only limited by the imaginations of you and your kid.

What will your kid engineer?

Happy holidays!