If you're new to the world of hardware, don't panic--the Particle Maker Kit (with Core) has everything you need to level up from hacker zero to hardware hero.  In addition to one shiny new Core, the Particle Maker Kit includes all the components and accessories you need to start building simple Internet-enabled projects. 

The kit comes in a super-neat project carrying case so you can put tidy up your toys when you're done playing. Resistors, capacitors, sensors and more are included, along with the Core.

The Spark Core is a complete Wi-Fi enabled development platform for creating connected devices with ease. Please note, this is not truly Arduino-compatible - Their IDE works with many Arduino examples and there have been libraries that are ported to the STM processor on board but even though they say 'Arduino-compatible' we would classify it more like "Arduino-like programming language"

The Spark Core is small, low power, and does all the heavy WiFi lifting, but will still let you do all kinds of tinkering to get your IoT project up and running. There's a backend website platform 'cloud' that will let you send and receive data so, rather than having to access everything from your local network or trying to figure out how to tunnel into it, the Spark Core connects out to the Spark.io network for seamless connectivity. You can always set up your own protocols if you want, but you don’t have to. And that’s kind of the point!  The Spark Core ships hooked up the cloud, so you can worry about your things and how they integrate, instead of worrying about getting the cloud to work. There's a lot more info on the Particle website.

On May 16, Spark.io renamed themselves to Particle, it's all the same hardward, software, and design - just a new name!