diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c012601..b4f7592 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 # Template for the Lingua Franca RP2040 target platform
-This repo is a template for [Lingua Franca](https://www.lf-lang.org/) projects using the bare metal RP2040 target platform such as found on the Raspberry Pi Pico board and the [Pololu 3pi+ 2040 robot](https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J86). Currently the repo supports MacOS, Linux, and Windows through [WSL](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install).
-To support RP2040-based boards, the repo uses the [Pico SDK](https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-sdk/tree/master/src) as a dependency which includes a light set of headers, libraries and a build system.
+This repo is a template for [Lingua Franca](https://www.lf-lang.org/) projects using the bare metal RP2040 target platform such as found on the Raspberry Pi Pico board and the [Pololu 3pi+ 2040 robot](https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J86). Currently the repo supports MacOS, Linux, and Windows through [WSL](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install). To support RP2040-based boards, the repo uses the [Pico SDK](https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-sdk/tree/master/src) as a dependency which includes a light set of headers, libraries and a build system. 
 
 ## Setup
 This template uses nix to manage toolchains and other applications. Install [nix](https://nixos.org/download.html) first for your preferred platform. Make note of the installation type since a **multi-user** install will require sudo permissions and will interact with a system-wide `/nix/store`. After installation, run the following in the shell to enable the experimental nix flakes feature.
@@ -9,6 +8,8 @@ This template uses nix to manage toolchains and other applications. Install [nix
 mkdir -p ~/.config/nix
 echo "experimental-features = nix-command flakes" >> ~/.config/nix/nix.conf
 ```
+> [!NOTE]
+> We are finding that this template is also applicable to RP2350-based boards, such as the Pico 2 and Pico 2 W. In many cases, you can rely on the board configuration (`PICO_BOARD`) to automatically set the platform (`PICO_PLATFORM`). For example, `export PICO_BOARD=pico2` will lead to `PICO_PLATFORM=rp2350`. This can be done in the file `shell.nix`, in the block above `shellHook`, where we have also set `PICO_PLATFORM = "";` to ensure the board header automatically sets it. For more information, see the "Platform and Board Configuration" chapter of the [Raspberry Pi Pico-series C/C++ SDK](https://rptl.io/pico-c-sdk) book.
 
 To launch the lf-pico shell environment, run the following in the root of the lf-pico repository. The launched shell will include the various required toolchains and applications needed for development.
 
diff --git a/shell.nix b/shell.nix
index 3a1abd7..22884f3 100644
--- a/shell.nix
+++ b/shell.nix
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ let
 in 
 pkgs.mkShell {
   packages = with pkgs; [
+    lolcat
     picotool
     cmake
     gcc-arm-embedded
@@ -20,6 +21,11 @@ pkgs.mkShell {
     # lingo
   ];
 
+  # set environment variables
+  # per "Raspberry Pi Pico-series C/C++ SDK", 7.2 Platform and Board Configuration: "PICO_BOARD=my_board_name in your environment will cause the header my_board_name.h to be included by all other SDK headers in order to provide #defines particular to the board you are using...If PICO_BOARD is specified but not PICO_PLATFORM, PICO_PLATFORM will be set if a value for it is specified in the board header."
+  #PICO_BOARD = "pico2_w";  # specify if your board is not plain pico, for example: pico_w, pico2, pico2_w, etc
+  PICO_PLATFORM = "";  # intentionally empty valued, allowing board header to set it
+
   # TODO: integrate dependencies into nix
   shellHook = ''
     echo "[shell] hook start"
@@ -28,13 +34,17 @@ pkgs.mkShell {
     cd pico-sdk/
     git submodule update --init
     export PICO_SDK_PATH="$PWD"
+    echo "[shell] PICO_SDK_PATH: $PICO_SDK_PATH" | lolcat
     cd ../
-    echo "[shell] copy robot header"
+    echo "[shell] copy robot header (pololu_3pi_2040_robot.h)" | lolcat
     cp pololu_3pi_2040_robot.h pico-sdk/src/boards/include/boards/
+    echo "[shell] PICO_BOARD: $PICO_BOARD" | lolcat
+    echo "[shell] PICO_PLATFORM: $PICO_PLATFORM" | lolcat
     echo "[shell] setup testbed"
     cd test/
     npm install
-    echo "[shell] hook end"
     cd ../
+    echo '[shell] To exit the shell, type `exit` or press `Ctrl`+`D`'
+    echo "[shell] hook end"
     '';
 }