Raspberry Pi: Cheap expansion board promises to make it easier to use the popular single-board computer for STEM learning

A new expansion board promises to make the Raspberry Pi easier to use for STEM learning. Called the Micro:bit STEM for Lab kit, the expansion board has been developed by Overfulfil Technology. The board is available to back on Kickstarter where it has nearly reached its funding goal of HK$3,000 (~US$387). The campaign has 20 days left to run.

The Micro:bit is intended to aid connecting sensors and actuators to the Raspberry Pi. To clarify, the micro:bit is an SBC in its own right. Developed by the Micro:bit Educational Foundation and the BBC, the micro:bit can be used on its own. However, it was designed to integrate with other systems like the Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has outlined how to use the micro:bit and a Raspberry Pi, which you can read here.

The expansion board comes with an OLED and Wi-Fi modules. The Micro:bit has slots for sensors too, including several environmental sensors that Overfulfil Technology includes with certain pledges. Specifically, there are sensors for air pressure, temperature and humidity, along with a moisture sensor, a colour meter and a TVOC/CO2 combination sensor. The expansion board communicates with the Micro:bit via I2C, which should make it easy to program.

The project can now be supported via Kickstarter. The STEM for Lab basic kit costs HK$150 (~US$20), which includes WiFi and OLED modules. If you want all the sensors described above, then you will need to pledge HK$320 or more (~US$42). Overfulfil Technology hopes to ship to backers in August 2020.