Snap Circuits Jr. Select/SC-130 to SC-500/ Upgrade Kit

I just bought this for my son's 5th birthday and I was afraid it would be either too easy or too hard, or just plain boring for him, but it is exactly perfect for him. He does like to build things in general but I wasn't sure if this would spark his interest. He works with his dad on it and has already started understanding the basics of circuits because he found it really interesting and cool that he could build a model of something that works and we use (ie a light, fan, ect) As a parent this is one of the better "toys" I have gotten. I love that the kit comes with a book on different "experiments" or circuits they can build, after the first one my son was begging to keep going and doing them for the most part by himself. We just got it so he hasn't made it to the harder stuff just yet but he understands the simple concept of a circuit already. I love that it is super easy but gets pretty complicated by the end--I am glad I went with a jr instead of the full version as this will last him awhile. In one of the projects it comes with a fan to build and when it shuts off it flys off, needless to say this has been his favorite so far. Like I mentioned he likes to do it with his dad and I think he understands what he is doing and why it works and doesn't, but he could easily build each of the circuits without help- he just wouldn't really understand why they work. As he gets a better understanding we will be stepping back and letting him manipulate it on his own. (there are more than enough diagrams to do guided learning first then independent.) I wish my highschool and college courses had some of these snap circuits kits! Well worth the money. A great way to inspire curiosity and learning.

I'm an Electrical Engineer and I purchased this for my 5 year old daughter for Christmas. I wasn't sure how well this would go over with her but I try to get her a few things each Christmas that are more educational than fun in hopes that she'll at least play with it long enough to learn something.I was very happily surprised with this kit. Not only did she learn a few things but it was one of her favorite presents. She enjoys following the diagrams and watching things happen, from spinning up the fan to hearing a siren or turning on a light. The look of discovery in her eyes when she gets a circuit working has brought great joy to me and she enjoys showing off circuits she can build to her older sister and grandfather.I explain to her what each component does when we build a circuit together for the first time and she has shown the ability to be able to easily adapt circuits herself based on her knowledge of what they do. For example, after getting the motor running and a previous explanation of what a resistor does, I asked her how she could change the circuit to slow the motor. Without saying a word, she snapped the resistor in series with the motor and achieved exactly what I asked. That was a very proud moment for me.The components are very easy to construct and the directions are generally easy to follow. The circuits get a bit more complicated as you go through the book and my 5 year old isn't up to constructing these later ones but she can easily do the early ones herself and she has more to work on in the future.As a choice of components, overall I'm quite happy with the variety in this kit, which I assume is one of the lowest level beginner kits for Snap Circuits. You have a resistor, speaker, motor w/fan, light, whistle chip, a photo resistor, and a couple of integrated circuits. One component that I would like to have seen would have been a variable resistor which would have added a bit of depth without really making the system any more complex. From a learning standpoint, at this beginner level, I don't care too much for the 2 IC chips. With multiple connections and a level of complexity of what they do that I really can't explain to my 5 year old, I don't feel they teach as much as they complicate. However, I must admit that though she doesn't understand how they work at all, my daughter does like the cool sounds they make so there's something to be said for keeping the interest going in learning.I can't rate this product high enough. It is a great learning tool. The recommended age is 8 and up but my 5 year old daughter has shown amazing grasp of concepts and great interest in playing with the circuits.

I was reading a story on LittleBits, a set of toys that allow you to mix and match electronic parts to put together some pretty advanced gadgets. Price on the LittleBits is up there, so did a little searching around and ran into the Snap Circuit line. With a price of $20 and high reviews, it wasn't hard to try this one out and see how my daughter likes it.To start off, my daughter is almost 4, but she is advanced for her age when it comes to math and her concentration. I picked this up as a test to see if she would like something like this and planned to upgrade to something like LittleBits if she did. The product mentions 8 to 108 for the age recommendations.Snap Circuits comes with a board that is plastic and laid out like a grid. There are buttons on each of the pieces that come with the product that attach to posts on the plastic grid. The instruction book that comes with the product shows you different setups (projects) and what each will do (run a fan, play music etc) and has a picture of where each piece belongs to complete the project. Each of the the projects also outlines what will happen when it is complete.Our 3 year old took some time, the first day, figuring out how to lay out the pieces to match what was laid out in the projects. I taught her to lay out the pieces first and then match where the pieces should go on the grid from the picture. After the first day she kept asking for the toy and had, by the forth day, mastered putting together the projects. A note to the manufacturer, the numbers and letter for the grid should be in white or black so they standout. It is a real challenge to the see anything on the plastic grid as the numbers and letters are transparent.Seeing her in action, what she has learned is an organized manner of completing things. The toy allows some imagination in what you do also and I highly recommend sitting with your child and helping them do the projects. I re-learned a bunch of science from my high school days playing with my daughter.Positives:Price (you get a lot for the money)It has staying power, 100 projects to play with.A lot to learned, serial, parallel circuits etc.It's fun when you complete the project and it all works.Negatives:When dealing with kids, some of the pieces are a little fragile. The battery pack dropped off the table and the thin plastic broke off. I was able to fix with a pull tie and a glue gun. Recommend laying it on a table it can't fall off of or on a carpet. I'd suggest making it a bit more rugged and adding a few dollars to the price.Here is a pic of my daughter and the Snap Circuit. She completed what you see by herself.[...]

Excellent kids DIY , science product. It's expensive in India compared to US. But very easy to use and play for 9 years above.Product is good quality and sturdy.

Wonderful product, easy to use and fun for kids

Excellent ! Simply a great product. It helps kids learn electrical circuit concepts in the most interesting and efficient way.

It is useful for school going children to understand basic concepts of electrical engineering without fear of getting electric shocks as its project demonstarions are done using battery power.

This is brilliant ! And makes our job easier to teach kids about circuit. Easy to do and learn for kids 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼