My 8yo daughter and I have been using a pile of relatively cheap BBC Micro:Bit boards to do simple robotics, electronics (motor controllers, screens) and RC fun.
What makes it better than (eg) Micropython on cheaper hardware the Blocks programming language. She had some experience with Scratch before and the libraries for this are great. The built in led matrix and sensors are useful and the radio is nippy enough for remote HCI.
There are quite a lot of accessories available from a few different manufacturers. These can minimise build time and let you focus on programming, but you can DIY. I think there's even a Lego breakout.
I will add, this has been a gateway hobby for me. While she's learning, I'm learning and I'm using my C and Python experience to have fun with really cut down boards. It's fun but you end up making a hell of a lot of "oh it's just £10 for a pack of motor controllers, MOSFETs, resistors, caps, etc etc etc." It's endless.
What makes it better than (eg) Micropython on cheaper hardware the Blocks programming language. She had some experience with Scratch before and the libraries for this are great. The built in led matrix and sensors are useful and the radio is nippy enough for remote HCI.
There are quite a lot of accessories available from a few different manufacturers. These can minimise build time and let you focus on programming, but you can DIY. I think there's even a Lego breakout.
I will add, this has been a gateway hobby for me. While she's learning, I'm learning and I'm using my C and Python experience to have fun with really cut down boards. It's fun but you end up making a hell of a lot of "oh it's just £10 for a pack of motor controllers, MOSFETs, resistors, caps, etc etc etc." It's endless.