Raspberry Pi Projects for All Skill Levels

Whether you’re a beginner or a practised pro, a child or an adult, these Raspberry Pi projects will help inspire you and provide instruction for your next project. Explore some amazing things Raspberry Pi can do, as shown below. 

Raspberry Pi projects for kids and teens 

One of the reasons Raspberry Pi exists is to help young people become interested in studying computers. RaspberryPi.org offers many tutorials for kids and teenagers to start working with the technology. While these projects are fun for any age, the tutorials and language of the projects are geared toward children, making them accessible for younger programmers with less help from a grown-up: 

• Weather station: Create a weather station to monitor local environmental data. This project requires quite a bit of equipment, but the finished project has a range of functions. The full equipment list is included in the tutorial. 

• Parent detector: Create a motion-operated security camera for your bedroom. For this project, you’ll need a camera, a PIR motion sensor, and three female-to-female jumper wires.

• Minecraft server: Create your own Minecraft server to play with friends. For this project, you’ll need a newer Raspberry Pi, a 16 GB microSD, and an Ethernet cable. 

• LED science display: Program lights and sounds to accompany a 3-D model. The 3-D model isn’t part of the tutorial. This project requires jumper wires and LEDs. 

• Astronaut reaction time game: Create and play a space-themed game. For this project, you only need Sratch 3 software and a computer that runs it. 

• Hamster party cam: Spy on your hamster while you sleep with this party camera. This project requires a camera, LEDs, 100 Ohm resistors, a reed switch, and speakers.

• Techno-shirt: Program an LED light display on a wearable piece of clothing. To create this project, you’ll need Adafruit Flora or Gemma, a USB cable, NeoPixels, conductive thread, crocodile clips, and an optional battery pack. 

• Build a robot buggy: You can control a robot buggy with Python. 

• Shakespearean insult generator: Create an insult generator with Elizabethan slurs. You'll just need your computer and Python 3 software.

• Laser tripwire: Create a laser tripwire alarm system to alert you to intruders. 

Raspberry Pi projects for beginners

With a low price point and designed to be accessible for all skill levels, Raspberry Pi has been popular enough to inspire many online tutorials. Each project has different equipment requirements, so some can be more expensive to execute than others. However, what these projects have in common is that they have walk-through tutorials designed for the beginner level. Most projects require a keyboard, mouse, screen, power supply, and equipment. 

• Raspberry Pi FM transmitter: Build your own FM broadcasting station. In addition to the base equipment, you'll need a microphone for this project. 

• Retro game console: Create a retro game console and play your old favourite games. You’ll need at least an 8 GB microSD, a USB controller, and a monitor.

• Meeting indicator: Create a device to show when you are in a meeting or when you are free. This tutorial only requires an LCD screen.

• Print server: Create a printer server to run your printer wirelessly. This project requires an 8 GB microSD, a USB printer, and an ethernet cable. 

• Motion sensor: Create a motion sensor to alert you to movement. You will need a passive infrared sensor and a buzzer.

• Cryptocurrency price ticker: Program a ticker to track the price of your favourite cryptocurrency. You will need a Raspberry Pi, a 16 GB microSD, and a display. 

• Security camera: Power a high-quality camera with a Raspberry Pi camera, a wide-angle lens, and a red LED. 

• Digital photo frame: Create a photo frame to display your favourite digital pictures. This project requires about an hour to complete, and you'll need an 8 GB microSD and an HDMI monitor or other compatible screen. 

Advanced-level Raspberry Pi projects 

Raspberry Pi might be an inexpensive and accessible technology, but that doesn’t mean it’s incapable of high-concept IoT design. Here are a few projects for a more advanced skill set:

• Raspberry Pi holographic anime virtual assistant: Design an adorable anime virtual assistant named Maria, thanks to a shared online tutorial by Developer Jess Peter. 

• E-reader: Create your e-reader with this tutorial from developer Joey Castillo. 

• Live-stream camera: Design a live-stream camera that goes above and beyond normal security cameras. 

• Desktop PC: Use Raspberry Pi to create your desktop PC for a fraction of the cost of traditional computers. 

• Air quality monitor: Graph air quality using particular sensors. For this project, you’ll need a Sensirion SPS30, a breadboard, and jumper wires. 

Learn more about Raspberry Pi

The Internet of Things (IoT) was first named in 1999, but in less than 25 years, it has changed so much about how we interact with our environment and how we expect it to interact with us. Raspberry Pi is one of the most accessible ways to start learning how to solve problems with IoT. 

Raspberry Pi projects are a great way to learn the specific uses of Raspberry Pi and start experimenting with its many functions. But if you’re ready for a more structured learning path, consider an online course to help you understand everything Raspberry Pi can do. 

If Raspberry Pi specifically is the technology you’re interested in, consider the Powering Your Home Projects With Raspberry Pi Specialisation offered by John Hopkins University on Coursera. You can learn more about IoT in The Raspberry Pi Platform and Python Programming for the Raspberry Pi, a class offered as part of a specialisation introducing students to IoT.