Features:

  • Build working Circuits build over 100 different electronics circuit projects with 30+ electronic components
  • Supports a vigorous STEM/ steam curriculum
  • No soldering - no tools - it's a snap snap modules require no tools and and click together to ensure solid electrical connections
  • Learn by doing build working models of a photo sensor, a flashing light, and an Adjustable-Volume siren. More than 100 exciting projects in all with included 30+ snap together parts
  • Design electrical circuits using the knowledge gained from building over 100 Circuits found in the illustrated instruction manual
  • Awards Snap Circuits brand kits have received the following awards: the National Parenting Center-Seal of Approval, Dr. Toy 100 best children's products, Dr Toy best educational products, STEM approved
  • Snap Circuits provide students ages 8+ with hands-on experience building models of working electrical circuits
  • Circuitsafe technology is only found in Snap Circuits brand electronics education kits. Snap Circuits, electronics exploration kit, circuitsafe, learn by doing, and Elenco are trademarks of and Copyrighted by Elenco electronics, Inc.
My 6 year old twin boys love this! One of their favorite birthday gift.

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.

I have to admit - it's better than I expected.

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.

Just enough lights/noises/motion to make him laugh, and challenging enough that he keeps coming back to it.

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.

Fantastic gift for kids

Just a few days ago, I had to stay home and watch my 4 year old because his nanny was sick. Unfortunately, I was sick as well with the same thing. My throat hurt, I was tired, achy, little bit feverish. But I muscled through the day, took him to the park, got him some lunch, we watched TV on the couch, but by the afternoon, I desperately needed to rest. I was burned out. I went into the other room and laid down. Within seconds he had descended upon me with a devilish cry of "Dad! Daddy! Da-Da!" There was no chance I would be able to even shut my eyes without him poking and prodding and giggling and laughing as I groaned. So what did I do? I got out the Snap Circuits Jr. set that I'd gotten him for his birthday. I put it on the floor and, with the last bit of energy in my fuel tank, I showed him how to build the easiest project. Then, I took it apart and told him to try. As he leaned over, his eyes wide and his lips pursed in concentration, I slipped away to the bedroom and lay down, hoping for just a few minutes of quiet. An hour and a half later, I was awoken by the sounds of a 1989 video game. I rolled over, groggy, and came out to find my son pressing a button on a complicated series of connectors and having three tone laser blasts emanate from the tiny speaker. He laughed and giggled each time the sounds changed. I rubbed my head, checked the clock, and sat down to help him build the next project with a smile on my face.

Slam Dunk Best Gift Ever.

Bought this for my nephew for X-mass (which we celebrated early this year). He loved it. There are not words to describe how much he loved it! Yet again I have clinched the coveted title of favorite uncle. Take that other brothers! My neph is kind of bright I guess for a 5 year old. And also seems to have a fascination with building stuff. But if your 5 year old is already doing Lego kits they will probably love this. It is better constructed than I had thought it would be for the price. It comes with a motor, speaker, several encapsulated ICs, diodes, capacitors etc. The snap together action of the pieces is genius. They snap like a snap button shirt. Kids love it! I think the bigger kits would be a great idea if you can afford them. I know I'll be getting him the next larger kit for his birthday. Who knows, maybe a soldering iron in a few years! PS I kind of want one of these kits myself!

Fun and educational for all ages!

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!

Perfect for teaching kids!!!

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.

Recommend for every child of any age

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.

My students absolutely LOVE them! The directions are simple enough for my ...

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. [...]

Great for your future Thomas Edison!

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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