Kids Electronics Discovery Kit

Product Description

Create Working Electronic Circuits Snap Circuits Jr (SC-100) comes with over 30 components to create 101 different electronic projects. The pieces, which include snap wires, slide switches, an alarm circuit, a music integrated circuit, and a speaker, snap together easily on the included plastic grid--no soldering required. Each piece is numbered and color-coded to make identifying them easy. These components combine to create working circuit boards just like the ones found inside televisions, radios, and other electronic devices. With its easy-to-follow instructions, Snap Circuits gives your child a hands-on education in how electrical circuits work to run the everyday devices that they're familiar with. They'll also gain valuable lessons in building and in following instructions. The project manual includes large color illustrations and simple directions for each project. The projects include a sound-activated switch, a musical doorbell, a voice-controlled lamp, a flying saucer, and a light police siren. With these projects, children will experiment with things like electric switches, integrated circuits, digital circuits, fuses, and the transformation of circuit sounds into other sounds. Includes: Plastic snap-grid, 32 electrical components, and 1 project manual.Recommended for children 8 years and older.

Features

• SO MANY TOYS IN A SNAP: Make dozens of cool electronic gadgets - all from one box! A safe and fun way to introduce children ages 8+ to the basics of electrical engineering! Build exciting projects and toys using the included colorful instruction book!.Ideal for ages:8 years and up
• PROJECTS THEY'LL LOVE: So many fun electric-powered projects you can make and play! Ages 8 to 108 will love building 100+ projects! Have fun while building practical skills and learning the basics of circuitry. Build a flying saucer in a snap and watch it take off and sound the alarm! Kit includes 29 Snap Circuits parts.
• GREAT GIFT Give the gift of learning and fun this holiday season! Snap Circuits kits will keep kids busy and having fun all year round. Combine with other Snap Circuits kits for even more projects!
• NO EXTRA TOOLS NEEDED Elenco Snap Circuits kits include everything you need to start learning immediately - and more. Unlike traditional electronics kits, no soldering or tools are required to build. The numbered and color coded pieces snap easily onto the included plastic grid. Batteries required.
• AWARD WINNING KITS! We're proud to produce high quality products loved by kids, parents,and educators. Snap Circuits kits have won a number of awards - including the Specialty Toy of the Year Award, Seriously STEM! award, Good Housekeeping's Best Toys, Purdue University's Engineering Gift Guide, National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval, Toy Insider's Top Holiday Toys, placement on the Dr. Toy list of 100 Best Children's Products and placement on the Dr. Toy list of Best Educational products, and the "Stem Approved" Trustmark from Stem.org.

Top Reviews

Fun and educational for all ages!
by CH (5 out of 5 stars)
April 29, 2017

What I like:
-the wide age group. I've used it with young kids and older adults...who all think it is fine!
-Different colored parts to help with assembly
-wide variety of projects
-ease of "snapping" items together
-bigger instruction manual which outlines what is occurring in the circuits.
-provides many opportunities to learn
-materials appear well-made and fairly durable
-takes 2 AA batteries (some other kits require batteries that I don't have around the house)
-easy to clean up

What I don't like: *note these are super nit-picky and very minor*
-the box does not fold together easily. The opening on the side is awkward and makes it difficult to completely close or open (if its closed all the way). I usually just leave it partially closed, because the parts are tight enough in the box they usually don't fall out (though they have fallen out once or twice) when I went to grab it for the next time.
-there are no step-by-step directions. It does come with a picture which you can use to build the items, but I use this sometimes in therapy and would have appreciated a breakdown of instructions for those who have difficulty assembling things without instructions (however; I have just been typing up my own by using the picture, so it is not a big deal, just something to note).

Overall:
-very pleased!
-would highly recommend
-fun for adults and for kids!
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Just enough lights/noises/motion to make him laugh, and challenging enough that he keeps coming back
by Court Harris (5 out of 5 stars)
February 16, 2017

My 5-year old has worked through the first 30 experiments. I helped him figure it out, and once he got the logic of the diagrams, it was all over. Occasionally I have to troubleshoot a circuit, but for the most part, this is a great tool to support STEM education. Just enough lights/noises/motion to make him laugh, and challenging enough that he keeps coming back to it. I will say that you need to work through the first several diagrams and explain it, esp if your kid can't read at a a minimum 3rd grade level. The instructions are somewhat technical, so take your time to read through it before you start putting pieces together, and then use the different "exercises" to teach the point that the toy-maker imparts for each lesson. I expect we will be playing with this game for a long time... Even redoing the easier exercises and learning things that were hard to grasp the first time. Solid, well built components that can stand up to "enthusiastic" handling.
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Recommend for every child of any age
by D. Webb (5 out of 5 stars)
November 15, 2017

My 8 and 10-year-old granddaughters opened this Friday and played with it all weekend. The parts are easy to snap on and off, and the illustrations are very clear for each of the projects. It just took a few minutes of identifying the pieces (they are clearly labeled) and making sure they set it up exactly like the illustrated layouts and they had a ball. They especially liked the flying saucer. Sometimes i would read aloud the "objectives"--otherwise, the kids might just go on to the next project without realizing what they have learned (e.g., "parallel" vs "series" circuits). But if they just want to play--let them play! Note: One granddaughter has some manual dexterity issues, but she was able to snap the pieces on and off just fine, and this was good exercise for her.
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I have to admit - it's better than I expected.
by Dale B. (5 out of 5 stars)
November 25, 2017

We gave this to a very bright 7 year old last year for Christmas... he asked for it, and I was more than happy to lure another young mind to the dark side. This year he's asking for an expansion pack, and still putting projects together. His younger brother wants his own set, too. It's a hit.

From the adult perspective, this is some very, very basic stuff. I found myself wishing for a little more theory in the instruction book, but I remind myself that this is the very basic entry level kit intended for young kids. Even so, he's starting to figure out the very general ideas about how some of this stuff works.
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Not up to the advertised claims
by Giovanni Deamici (3 out of 5 stars)
January 7, 2015

As a kid (more years ago than I care to admit) I played with the Phillips electronics set; it came with multiple values of resistors, capacitors, inductors, a few transistors, switches, and wires, instructions to make about 30 different circuits and a booklet which explained how and why things worked. That set has been off-the-market for ages, so reading that this set allows a child to build 100 circuits made me curious. I bought it for my kids and after opening the box had to realize that it is just advertising hoopla.

Your reaction to this set will depend on what you expect. If you are pleasantly surprised at connecting a few terminals and having something that works, this is the toy for your child. If you hope it will teach at least elementary electronics, you (like me) will be disappointed

I will list first the positives:
1) my 9-years-old child took to it like fire to straw; in the first 24 hours since opening the box (including one full day of school) he has blazed without help through about 2/3 of the projects, and shows no sign of getting bored. The 6 years old one, instead, shows no interest.
2) all components worked
3) the molded-plastic box liner helps keep the pieces neatly organized and identify what might have been dropped on the floor and risks being forgotten at the end of the play session.

And for the negatives:
1) There are maybe 15 basic circuits here, and multiple variations on each one. Example: a circuit will allow you to turn on a light by clapping your hands, and another circuit will allow you to start a siren by clapping your hands. The manufacturer counts those as two different circuits, even though the only (minuscule difference) is using as output the light bulb vs. the speaker component. Do not expect anywhere near the level of fun that "over 100 exciting projects" could provide.
2) Most of the elements provided are (really) just a glorified piece of copper wire of various lengths. There is two IC, a couple switches, an input and output unit each for sound and light, a DC motor, a battery holder; the rest could be replaced with unbent paperclips, and nobody would be the wiser. For over $20 I would have hoped to get more than a couple dollars' worth of components.
3) The instructions are erector-set-like: you are vaguely told what the circuit is supposed to do and given a picture representation of what it should look like. There is no discussion/explanation of why it should work as planned, or what each component does. The one control IC is provided in a sealed opaque box with unlabeled terminals and no description of what other circuitry might be embedded inside the plastic case.
4) The microphone is extremely insensitive. On circuits which are triggered by sound you get better/faster/repeatible response by hitting the IC component that by making noise near the sensor (microphone).

Summary: out-of-the box this seems a construction set (think Lego City) with electricity. If left alone with the toy a child will learn how to connect the pieces and follow instructions, and little more. A child left with the toy will not understand electricity and electronic any better than a child without the toy unless he/she has also access to a DMM or (preferably) an oscilloscope and a relative showing what happens to the voltages and waveforms when different terminals are connected on the ICs .

I would definitely recommend this toy before a playstation, but want to believe there are better products out there.
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My 6 year old twin boys love this! One of their favorite birthday gift.
by Ivy N. Thomson (5 out of 5 stars)
March 16, 2016

Fantastic toy! My 6 year olds can do this themselves. They received this for their 6th birthday last night. They have a little trouble snapping the pieces, but are quickly getting the hang of it. They really like what it can do. Plus they got it for their birthday and it sings "Happy Birthday"! I showed them how to do the first 4 projects, then they did the next 2 on their own. I am having to emphasize putting back the pieces from one project before starting another, but the rest of it they are doing on their own now! They received this for their 6th birthday and it is the perfect age for this. I would recommend at least a minimum supervision to make sure the kids don't lose the pieces. They are big, sturdy and durable, but little kids don't put things away and durable doesn't always mean able to be stepped on. We will likely do all 100 projects on this, then get the next kit or an extender kit.

I also explained to my kids about the short circuiting. So far they are just following the book (knowledge to read not required), so it likely won't be an issue, but I told them don't do just black parts or black parts and switches, it will break it.
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Perfect for teaching kids!!!
by J. Levy (5 out of 5 stars)
May 15, 2018

These are Great for teaching young children are older children or anybody even about electricity about energy , about sensors about solar about how cameras work . Well the book that explains everything doesn't really word it in a way that makes the reader understand Easily. Its not too complicated , but do you really internalize what was happening I had to reword the lessons . But the book is easy enough to use for an adult. There are multiple short projects for the kids to do with this . I am at Montessori teacher. This will be perfect for any parent to buy a child and teach their child all about electricity. I would consider it the number one way to teach a child about electricity. Quality product. Keep the box and teach the kids to be careful with the pieces if they drop or crash against each other they can stop working. Get the largest expanded set if affordable so you have more features. Either way is fine though. But if you end up really liking the thing your wishes but the larger set that there's a picture of in the back of the booklet included . Because the largest that might include something extra like a fan or a siren or an alarm or something cool like that .

We taught a class of 15, each kid had a set.
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High Quality Kit; Great for Superstar Children or "Normal" 12+-yr olds
by JulesJC (4 out of 5 stars)
December 13, 2015

I purchased this as a gift for a clever 6 year old, although I know the box says 8-108. The idea was to show her how it worked to see if she had any interest in electronics. I was concerned it wouldn't maintain her attention, so before gifting it my partner and I decided to try it out so that we could explain it to her. We both have Masters degrees, and his is in engineering, so we figured it would be a piece of cake. He also played with similar, though much more complex kits, beginning at the age of 9 (but he was far more advanced in engineering skills than his peers) and had a blast.

While using the kit, I was trying to look at it from the average kid's perspective.

The first thing we noticed about the kit, especially for me considering I wasn't really exposed to circuits as a child aside from a brief period in junior high, was that for the most part you couldn't just look at the pieces as a newb and understand what they were. They have symbols like "U1, U2, U3, WC, S1, SP, R1...". It would have been extremely helpful if the resistor, for example, was actually labeled "RESISTOR". Page 2 is incredibly useful since it names each piece.

The kit seems to assume you have some basic understanding of circuits before you even get going. For me I like to jump in and try things out; learn as I go. I despise manuals. With this kit however, you really need to take the time to read the manual, especially since a wrong arrangement can actually short out some of the pieces. If you have an inpatient kid or one without great reading skills you'll need to help them with this. I've attached some photos so you can see the complexity of the manual. There is a lot of really good info in there if you are willing to take the time to read it. It's 45 pages in length.

We worked through several configurations together, and then started to feel like there was too much redundancy. A new configuration would often just be the replacement of a particular piece, or it would involve taking two configurations and linking them together. After going through maybe 6-8 different configurations (and believe me, those would be pretty cool for someone who had never worked with circuits before) we stopped, because flipping through the book we found we weren't seeing a whole lot of additional variety.

The plastic base seems well made and although I feared I would crack it as I popped the pieces in place, I didn't. I did find it difficult to pull some of the pieces apart after they were snapped together (literally had to use my teeth on more than one occasion).

All in all, this is a very high quality kit, though somewhat limited it what it can do. I think something like this would have been great when I was just starting to learn circuits in the 7th grade. To get the full value you need to not only follow the circuit configurations to achieve a certain output (fan, dimmed light, siren) but also really read and understand why certain things are happening and how each unique piece contributes to that.

I'd recommend this for your budding 8-year old junior engineer, or purchase it for your ~12-year old when they start learning about this sort of thing in school. It makes for a great hands-on activity to supplement school learning. I wish I had something similar. For the price it's a deal. I doubt it would keep my 6-year old niece's attention, even if we worked through it with her, but we'll hold on to it to see how she progresses over time and will share it with other kids we know as it makes sense to.
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My students absolutely LOVE them! The directions are simple enough for my ...
by UpnorthTahq (5 out of 5 stars)
November 3, 2016

I use Snap Circuits Jr SC-100 in my K-6 technology classroom in a public school. My students absolutely LOVE them! The directions are simple enough for my first graders to follow after a short demonstration, and the projects range in difficulty to keep even the sixth graders excited. Several projects require a cup of water to demonstrate that water is a conductor, which leads to the students experimenting what other materials are also conductors. There are also blueprints to add speakers, play "Happy Birthday," make sirens, motion-activated alarms and a doorbell. I have also purchased this kit for my 8 year-old son, and he will sit for much longer than usual working with the snap circuits.

One of my favorite aspects of the Snap Circuits is the company Elenco Electronics Inc--of the 11 kits I ordered, one piece in one kit was defective, and two pieces broke after weeks of heavy classroom use. I got on Elenco's website and filled out their replacement parts order form and they sent me the three pieces free of charge within 10 days. Excellent costumer service! I do and will continue to recommend this product to parents to support creative family (or, if the child is older than about 7 or 8, individual) play and to encourage STEM and electrical engineering.
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Great for your future Thomas Edison!
by Will & Amanda H (5 out of 5 stars)
March 24, 2017

My 5 year old is constantly asking questions about how the world works and is very inquisitive, especially about science type things. We saw this as a deal for Christmas and couldn't resist. Each experiment is laid out nicely in the instruction manual and provides a narrative discussing what is going on in the experiment. There are enough experiments that you can do a few for 30 minutes or so and then put it away for a day or so and pull it out and do some more. By the time you finish all of the experiments you can go back and do the first ones. In the beginning, I was putting the experiments together and talking him though how to interpret the diagrams but now he can do the experiments himself. This is a great learning tool and very educational. If I set this out beside one of his other hot wheels type toys and told him to pick which one he wanted to play with, I guarantee he would pick this Circuits toy every single time. I plan on buying one of the bigger kits for his birthday in a couple of months!

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