Official Arduino Starter Kit [K000007] – 12 DIY Projects with Electronic Components & English Projects Book – Original Kit from Italy

This kit is awesome. I highly recommend this to anyone that has an interest in electronics and/or programming. While I am a seasoned programmer, I had no electronics experience prior to purchasing this kit. Recently I've found myself yearning to build electronic projects and figured this would be a good place to start given it's a fairly comprehensive starter kit.First, I'll start with the packaging. The packaging on this kit is very sexy, much like an Apple product. The design and style are simple and beautiful, the various items included in the kit are all nicely packaged in their individual boxes, and everything fits together very nicely. The unboxing feels like an experience. I realize some people may not care about the packaging, but if you're considering giving this kit as a gift, it makes a difference and will have an impact.As far as all the components included in the kit, I'm not an expert but it feels like a great starter kit and has a lot of very useful components in it, as well as lots of goodies and extras. There's enough in this kit to tackle a lot of projects and it feels like a solid base to start from. Some people have mentioned that you can purchase all these components cheaper if you source them out individually. I highly doubt the hours one would waste tracking down everything individually would justify the savings. After all this kit is not terribly expensive for what you get.Not to mention, one of the best things in this kit is the book. It's got lots of great projects in it that teach you both electronics and programming in the process. It's well written and easy to understand, even for a novice to electronics such as myself. As a programmer I do have to speak to the programming side of the book which in my opinion could be a bit more detailed for those who do not have experience with programming. That said, it's better than average and I do feel you'll learn to code in the process of going thru these projects. Overall, it feels like a well thought out and thurough course, with each chapter building on the next.In sum, this kit is really fun. I have no hesitation recommending this product. I guarantee you will thoroughly enjoy it, have a lot of fun, and learn some things in the process. This kit would make a fantastic gift for anyone interested in programming and/or electronics, and would also be a great thing for parents/grandparents and their kids to do together.

I just received this kit, so of course I'm writing this as someone who hasn't gone through the projects. I will update this review as soon as I get a more direct experience with the projects and test the performance of the different parts and components. The packaging is really nice; everything comes laid out very nicely, making the mere unboxing of the kit a nice experience. Hopefully the projects will be just as nice and all the components will work correctly. Price was very reasonable as well.Update:It's now more than a week since I received this package and I have now more hands-on experience than I had when I wrote the first part of the review. I've gone through the first three projects, and plan to go through a few more soon. I have to say than it's all been a great experience so far. I haven't encountered any defectuous components, and the book is clear enough to follow and go through the projects easily and to learn the basics of the Arduino language. The book is also very nice: while it doesn't teach electronics nor programming in a complete or thorough way, it does help in developing the interest in these areas and provides simple solutions and tips to develop electronics knowledge. It serves as an introduction, so if the user decides he/she wants to continue learning electronics or programming he/she can look for more advanced sources. The wooden base the kit includes was one of the best surprises: I was thinking about getting an acrylic case for my Arduino but after screwing it to the base and attaching the breadboard at its side I've decided it looks very nice like that and will keep it that way.To conclude, I would greatly recommend anyone with no experience but with an interest in the areas of programming and electronics to get this kit, since it represents a very enjoyable introduction to these areas. Also, it can be a great gift to a kid who wants to learn or become an engineer, so I also recommend it to any parent who believes his kid is developing an interest. Learning Arduino is fun and also has educational content, so there is no way to be wrong with this.

If you're looking to get started with Arduino, this is the kit for you! I did a lot of research on starter kits before deciding to purchase this one. It's one of the pricier kits out there, but it's totally worth it. When the box arrives, the components are organized and packed into clearly labeled boxes. Everything is pretty easy to locate and everything the website mentions is included. Be aware that this kit does not come it a 9v battery which is required in a few of the starter projects. I've already worked through most of the projects in the starter guide and everything worked accordingly. Some reviewers complain that the instructions in the starter guide are unclear and hard to read. The font is pretty small and gray colored, but anyone with decent vision should be able to read it with no problem. As to the clarity of the information itself, the guide is very clear about what goes where on the breadboard and also explains basic concepts of electricity such as Ohms Law. Don't expect to pass the AP Physics electricity and magnetism test based on this guide, but it is sufficient to get you started. I really like that they have the written code at the end of each section with commentary on the logic of each line of code. If you don't feel like typing the code out line by line, the Arduino software comes with code for all the starter projects under file > examples. Overall, this kit is a great way to introduce Arduino to kids 10+ and adults who want to start tinkering with Arduino. Get the official starter kit and you won't regret it!