When designing an event, at a high level, we:

• Brainstorm on a theme and topic.
• I write up a proposal, and only create the event once approved.
• The proposal includes examples o future events that can be scheduled using the existing RPi kit plus a few extra components. These are often at 10% of the parts cost from the first event.
• Once materials are ordered, we schedule a date typically 6 or more weeks out.
• You then send out your targeted mailing invite and watch the sign-ups come in! My experience has been having the event be full with a waiting list in under 2 hours!

As an example, the first event is an introduction to buttons and LEDs. At the end of the event, the attendees are reminded to hold onto their kits and watch their email for future events. You can then offer a later event where you send out another $30 to $50 in components. These later courses do not need to be taken in order either! As long as the attendee has done the first event and has held onto their kits they can attend the later courses.

Here is an example curriculum, designed as a drip campaign:

• BWF 101 – LEDs and Switches
  • This is the base course. Using a membrane switch and some LEDs we create a reaction game and a Simon-like game called PiMon.
• BWF 202 – Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
  • We send a buzzer and two sonic distance sensors to create a musical instrument similar to a Theromen.
• BWF 203 – Inter-Integrated Circuit Protocol (I2C)
  • We send 4 small displays and an I2C multiplexer to create a “whack a mole” game.
• BWF 204 – Inter-Process Communications (IPC)
• BWF 205 – Servos & Stepper Motors
• BWF 206 – Digital/Analog Convertors
• BWF 207 – HUB375 & RGB LED Matrices

For the curriculum above, we used “BWF” (“Build With Fastly”) as the prefix for the courses. I’d customize the prefix to align with your brand. Some concepts/examples:

• AWA – Automate With Acme
• IWA – Integrate With Acme
• LWA – Level-up With Acme

The marketing company Haute was a big part of the presentation and technical execution when I’ve done this event. I highly recommend leveraging their services, but it is possible to do this event leveraging either your event staff or another firm. I also suggest using CanaKit as the Raspberry Pi kit vendor. They provide quality products, ship fast and are highly responsive.