SX Create 2016
The last few weeks have turned out to be a big (and busy) time for us at Raspberry Pi! We celebrated our fourth birthday and the release of Raspberry Pi 3 in Cambridge, and wrapped up the month in Austin, Texas during SXSW Interactive, the event that draws techie geeks and enthusiasts.
Day two of #SXCreate begins NOW! @pcsforme has a fresh batch of Pi 3s for sale. And come try out the Sense HAT! pic.twitter.com/ac2sRHuTBf
— Raspberry Pi (@Raspberry_Pi) March 12, 2016
So what did we do all day at SXSW (other than find some of the best BBQ this country has to offer)? Some of us on the The Raspberry Pi team set up a hands-on Sense HAT activity for participants at SX Create, a family-friendly event with some of our favorite maker companies as well as local projects from some of Austin’s up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Our activity introduced basic point-and-click control of the HAT’s on-board LEDs and included a programming challenge to get data from its sensors and display it as text on the LED matrix.
Even the Raspberry Pi team couldn’t resist sitting down to have a go.
Ethan, the founder of PCs for Me, joined us in the booth for the weekend. Ethan creates Raspberry Pi kits that include all the components you need to jump-start your own projects at home; some are based on our own educational resources. He helped get Raspberry Pi 3s into the hands of eager buyers. His stock of Pi 3s didn’t last long, once the word got out to the tech-savvy crowd of SXSW.
I just got my hands on my first @Raspberry_Pi 3 from young entrepreneurs at #sxsw https://t.co/B4CsiW4Td7 pic.twitter.com/Qc46iiwMp7
— Lucie deLaBruere (@techsavvygirl) March 11, 2016
And the last Pi 3 (for real this time) goes to Anuhar! pic.twitter.com/IasUPFw3T7
— PCs for Me (@pcsforme) March 12, 2016
In an event that’s as big as SXSW, we still managed to be among some of our friends – long-standing forum contributors, our newest Raspberry Pi Certified Educators, and librarians we’ve been in touch with – in addition to kids jumping in on the HAT activity and parents looking at projects they could do at home. We also met some new friends: Pi users who were just coming into the fold, and longtime community members who shared some brilliant projects created with three different models of Raspberry Pi!
Although we were excited to show off Raspberry Pi 3, we were especially looking forward to meeting members of our community. It’s exactly what we love about events like this. If you get the chance, join us at our upcoming events – you can find us at the at the following shows across the US:
- USA Science and Engineering Festival, April 15-17 in Washington, DC
- Maker Faire Bay Area, May 20-22 in San Mateo, California
- American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition, June 23-28 in Orlando, Florida
- ISTE 2016, June 26-29 in Denver, Colorado
- World Maker Faire New York, Oct 1-2 in New York City, NY
We would love to meet you!
6 comments
Toby
COOL!
Simon C Ponder
It was really great seeing yall there. Was disappointed that you had sold out of the Pi Zeros by the time I had discovered that you all were there. But you made up for it with some fun conversation and other accessories that I could pick up.
Hope to see ya’ll next year.
homer L. Hazel
I was so confused for a minute when I read that you got some of the best Barbecue. I was thinking. I don’t think Great Britain is know for their Barbecue. And then I read on a bit and saw this was in Austin Texas. I lost all confusion.
W. H. Heydt
I plan to be at the San Mateo Maker Faire in May, but Saturday only. I hope to have one or two little Pi projects working and with me.
Jim Manley
Along with Mr. Heydt, he other half of the Duh-namic Duo that has helped bring Raspberry Jams to Silicon Valley every third Saturday of each month at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View will help shift the flag to San Mateo for our annual integration of our Jam into the Faire festivities. I’m a big-cheese volunteer for the Faire – well, we sometimes get rewarded with big pieces of cheese that haven’t been on the ground for more than the 10 Second Rule ;)
Come one, come call, but just come! BTW, each four-hour shift you volunteer for earns a free day pass to the Faire (plus, you get a really cool Maker Faire Traveler T-shirt and steenkin’ badge, among other very collectible swag). Sign up here: http://makerfaire.com/bay-area-2016/traveler-program
See you at The Faire!
Mark Swope
And yet another reason I truly regret missing SXSW this year! I only live 260km from Austin…