The original 26-pin is equipped with a row of 2x13 pin headers. These aren't just for show however, these (General Purpose Input/Output) pins can be used to access a whole new world of fun with your . Through programming the Pi, these ports are able to undertake a variety of tasks including playing with LEDs, running motors and sending and recieving data.

So, if you want to get your interating with physcial hardware electronic systems such as a breadboard, you'll most likely want to bridge the connections with a ribbon cable and socket connector.

The assembled ribbon cable consists of two 2 * 13 Pin Socket connectors assembled on a 150mm length of Rainbow Ribbon cable.

The magic thing about rainbow ribbon cable is that you can easily uniquely identify each wire in the ribbon!