Customer Reviews

Electronic Experiment Kit with Computer Inteface, Snap-Circuits

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 8-year-old son has been playing with this electronics kit for over a year. Although the instruction manual could do a better job of explaining the basic principles of electronics, my son seems to truly understand many of the circuits he's building. He can't understand the more complicated circuits, especially the ones involving the music ICs, but the fun of building the circuits and seeing them work seems to keep him interested. A few of the parts have broken, but it's been easy to order replacements from the Snap Circuits website. The "computer interface" included is a cable to connect the circuit board to a PC's microphone input and a CD that has oscilloscope software. It works reasonably well, but it doesn't seem to add much enjoyment or educational value. Perhaps the best aspect of the Snap Circuits system is that you can upgrade to SC-500 and SC-750 without buying a brand-new set. The computer interface comes standard with the more advanced sets, so it may not be worth paying extra to get it with SC-300.

For my 6 year old it offers a puzzle-like experience, where he assembles the electronic pieces per the manual to make a working result. When correctly assembled, he is rewarded with sounds, lights, spinning disks, etc. For older children (and adults) it should be a good foundation for basic electronics understanding. They can begin by following the manual, then when they have learned how the different parts function, the kit allows branching out to create circuits of their own design.

The easy to follow manuals and snap together parts (just like clothes snaps) make it quick and simple to build a circuit, take it apart, then build the next. It's a huge improvement from the days of learning by cobbling something together with pieces of scrap wire, hot soldering irons and parts salvaged from old TVs/radios. It makes learning electronics safe and practical for a much younger audience.

Even with no electrical knowledge the child (or parent) can quickly begin to build rather complex circuits, for example, a sound activated light. They will learn about resistors, switches, transistors, diodes, "chips", etc. From my child's experience, it is not only fun and challenging, but it's a real confidence builder.

This is a great product. I would recommend it for any kid 6+ year old. It is kinda like Legos with an "on/off" switch.

My son received this for Christmas and loves it. He had played with a friends for the past year so I thought it would make a good gift. He has played with it many times since Christmas and still has a good time.

He has made so many cool things with this. He can build things alone, and sometimes it becomes a family project! Very cool gift for the kid that has it all and likes science. My husband says he wants one for himself!

This is completely worth the money spent on it. It has provided hours of fun for two of my sons.

This is a great toy for kids to learn electronics and circuitry. Fun experiments make them think. Color coded parts make it easy to use.