Customer Reviews

Snap Circuits Extreme SC-750

5 star:		(94)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been an Amazon customer for years, but this is the first time a product stood out enough for me to write a review. I bought this for my 8 yr. old daughter and I figured my 6 yr. old son could use it later.

I was very hesitant, because there aren't a lot of reviews and it's expensive.

Well, we've had it a few days and my daughter has been playing more with "Secrets of the Master Magician: An Apprentice's Manual", which I also bought at the same time (another great gift). My daughter is interested in this and it's easy for her to put things together.

My son is obsessed with it! It's similar (for him) to the Lego creatures he puts together. He needs a little help from time to time, but he can certainly follow the very well laid out diagrams. So far they've created an FM radio, a scifi noise maker, a sound detecting space noise maker thingy, a propeller that spins and flies into the air, a seven segment display, a volt meter connected to the solar cell. After connecting the solar cell, I realized my son thought the solar cell would come on like a computer screen or TV! After explaining it and putting my hand over it; now they both know what a solar cell does.

- There are 5 books of experiments.
- Each project has a nice simple color picture of how to connect all the components.
- All components are clearly marked.
- The diagrams are a top view. Since the connections are layered on top of one another 2 and 3 deep, it takes a little figuring as to what's on top and what's on bottom. It's easy for an adult. It's part of the "puzzle" for the kids. After we put a few together, they both got it.
- The pieces seem sturdy enough and snap together easily
- There is great assortment of parts to create lots and lots of very interesting projects.
- My kids love the projects. I've been very impressed.
- It has a cable that you can connect to the microphone port of a PC sound card. I haven't played with this. There is software, it looks like you can turn your PC into an oscilloscope. Looks interesting. There's a whole book for these projects. I just saw the cover, so it's likely that there's even more to it.

My kids are learning a lot with this. While they are putting things together, I can explain how these different parts work. There are lots of opportunities to take the project and modify it by replacing parts, change a light out for the speaker, etc.

For example, my son put the 7 segment LED together. I wasn't impressed. I was hoping to put together a counter, but it just connects each segment to ground to turn all the segments on. There are 750 projects, so maybe there is a counter project. Regardless, my son was fascinated. He changed all the connections manually to count from 0 to 9. He changed the main power resistor to see it go brighter with a smaller resistor and dimmer with a bigger resistor. Lots of implicit learning going on. I pointed to the microwave display and said, "See, that's how it works!"

Despite the price tag, I bought this as a birthday gift for our highly intelligent, 10-year-old budding engineer, who was always complaining, "I'm bored." (Plus, he dismantles everything else he gets, therefore breaking it, so we thought, "Why not get him something he's supposed to tinker with?")

Within minutes of opening the box, he was snapping circuits together and creating cool experiments. Every 10 minutes or so, he returned with a new "invention" and within an hour announced, "This is the BEST GIFT EVER!!!" He still loves it and enjoys trying different configurations. For his brother's birthday celebration this weekend, he had it perform "Happy Birthday" to everyone's amusement. There seems to be no limit to its applications, and my son is excited about learning what it can do.

I cannot recommend this kit enough. You will not regret shelling out a little more cash for the 750 kit if you have a computer and want to encourage your child to use the computer for something other than playing games and surfing silly kid sites. We're sure Joey will eventually lose various pieces, but there are so many possible configurations, that won't render the product useless when it happens. Don't hesitate -- you won't be disappointed!

I've been looking at the Snap Circuit sets for several years now and finally purchased the SC-750 for my daughters 9th birthday. I was a bit worried she was too young for it but found that was not the case. She's already built the voice recorder, FM radio and doorbell projects and had a blast playing with each of them. The projects are really simple to build (I only helped with the first one) by following the detailed instructions and well marked components. She came home yesterday, did her homework and went right to Snap Circuits and began building another project (much better than watching the TV). I look forward to using the computer interface so we can actually learn (together) about electronics. I suspect this is one of those rare toys that that will not gather dust on the shelf.

My son was 8 yrs old when he received the Snap Circuits Jr. 100 set last Christmas. He enjoyed it so much, that for his 9th birthday, we got him the Snap Circuits Extreme 750 kit. He has never enjoyed a gift more! He is able to figure out the electronic projects usually all by himself. He wants to play with this set everyday! He even tries to sneak it to his bed and play with it at night (using the light bulb projects!) We are also helping him get started on the computerized projects as well. This was absolutely the best money ever spent on a toy for any of our sons!

I can't sing enough praise about this toy for the parents of any scientifically minded youngster. While the toy is costly, for sheer "educational and fun" value, I can say we've gotten more bang for our buck out of this toy than any other we've ever bought for our children. It is well worth the price. My nine year old received this toy in February, and I can say while he has played with it almost every single day since, has barely made a dent in all of the possible projects, and still can't get enough of it.

For this review, I asked my childrens' (and their father's) favorite experiments. I got more than I could include, but here's a small sample:

The Light and Sounds experiments: We loved looking at electronic signal patterns using the included oscilloscope Windows "WINSCOPE" software. My child spent two weeks experimenting with different signal patterns in any any sound from talking, laughing, or screaming into the microphone; playing music and other audio samples etc.

Salt Water Light: Electricity conduction. By submersing wires into water, we completed a power circuit and lit a light bulb. We added salt to the water and found it to be an even stronger conductor, creating a brighter light.

This toy isn't limited to huge number of projects outlined in the experiment book. If your child is creative, the potential of this toy is a happy thing.

We created our own variation of the Salt Water Light by wetting our hands with salt water and clasping hands while holding the wires, thus using our bodies to create and complete the circuit. Since the power source was double A batteries, this was a safe variation, though clearly you wouldn't want to try any un-approved power sources for this toy for obvious safety reasons. (IE: Don't plug it into a wall socket if you'd like to keep your hair or brain.)

Another example was a modification of the simple "On/Off" project from the Snap Circuits. My nine year old likes Legos and K'nex building toys. He put together a motorized K'nex car. Using the Snap Circuits, he created a bypass of the K'nex motor's original on/off switch so that he could turn the motor on using the Snap Circuit mechanism. He wants to expand on this using the solar panel included in the Snap Circuits to see if he can then make the K'nex car solar powered.


On the downside, while this toy is remarkably sturdy for something with so many parts and delicate electronic components, it isn't indestructible, and can't handle a lot of hard play. We've broken one of the capacitors so far. You can order replacement parts from the company, though since we haven't done this yet I can't offer a review of the process.

My one complaint is storage. We have kept the original box with its form fitted plastic insert to hold the parts snugly in place, but the box is not designed for real storage and transport. My son keeps it out and open on his dresser. You can purchase a specially designed carry case for between $30-50 dollars. I might consider that for his next birthday present, but it's pricy enough that it isn't an afterthought purchase in the least. I'm sure other people could offer better and cheaper creative storage suggestions, but we haven't looked into it yet.

On the whole, this is a superior toy. We were and are still very satisfied with this purchase.

Pros: Easy to use, snap-based connections a very simple to assemble, even for younger hands (my four-year-old had no trouble following the directions and handling the pieces). Grid-based platform with well-marked diagrams makes putting the circuits together straight-forward. Student guide available separately provides lots of additional factual "how" and "why" details missing from the set's own instruction manual.

Cons: Components do not appear to be easily replaced. Circuits rely on a large number of integrated circuits rather than having a wide variety of more basic components. Just 12 projects into the kit, there's already a duplicate circuit. The "750 experiments" is probably more like "675 experiments". Doesn't come with a wall adapter (but you can buy one separately).

Overall, the cons are relatively minor, and the pros very important. Probably my biggest serious complaint about the set is that it's not packaged for convenient storage. The box it comes in is serviceable, but barely. We'll probably have to go get a dedicated toolbox or something to store the pieces in, longer term.

But on the whole, this has been a great product, with lots of interesting projects to assemble, and plenty of learning opportunity for the parent who is willing to work with their child and expand on the basic info that's provided in the kit.

Finally, a toy with some educational value that trumps, not only TV, but Play Station Portable. It's surely suitable for children younger than my 12-year-old son, and for children who are academically more successful. My son has some difficulty with Attention Deficit Disorder; is not good at following directions; and has never taken any interest in a toy that requires following directions, but this one has his full attention. I was afraid that the simple objects that can be built with it would not hold his interest, but I was entirely wrong. He even puts up with a considerable amount of parenting about reading the written instructions along with the diagrams. We use the toy both in free play, and in a formal educational setting where he puts up with my pedantic insistence that he get the construction right on the first try or he is not allowed to try it out.

I purchased this for my 7 year for Christmas after having searched for something that would stimulate his mind and get him off the Wii for a bit. Job well done!! When he first got it, he was a bit apprehensive about building circuits. I sat with him and we built a few and now he is hooked!! Most mornings, while he waits for either his Mum or I before going to school, he is can be found down on the floor building something and we are usually met with a "wait a minute" when we tell him that we are ready to go.

He is really in love with the FM radio circuit and took it to school to give his friends a "seminar" on circuit electronics!!!

One of the 5 books is dedicated to circuits that allow connection via a microphone jack on a laptop or PC to view waveforms on a simple "oscilloscope" application.

This is something that I am sure will last him for at least 5 - 6 years and can easily be passed on to someone else, once he outgrows it.

The unit is well built and the inserts in the box are well laid out with a diagram of parts placement for storage.

I also bought the "Battery Eliminator" to save on the amount of batteries that he will use when making projects.

Again, money well spent.

I bought this for my 13 year old son as a birthday gift. The projects in the book have clear instructions and are easy to follow. The components are of good quality and work as expected. The kit provides for a wide range of electronics projects from motors to logic circuits that power LED's. With some imagination, the variations are nearly endless. Now if my son could just have a chance to use it...

The boys are 8, 10, and 38. This is a must have simply to have enough parts to keep all three happy. I am not much into experiments, I like my electronics to come already assembled and ready to do their job but even this morning, I found myself with the 8 year old solving a positive / negative issue to make a fan spin. It gave me a smile to know that even a MOM can be an engineer.

The only problem that we had was that the 10 and the 38 year old's tend to HOG it and so the only way that the 8 year old could get at it was to wait until they left to use the rest room or wake up really early so if at all possible, buy each budding engineer their own because like DS and MP3's this is addictive and a lot of fun.

I am going to give it a couple of weeks and if it is still as hot ticket item, get a second one and then we will see what we can seriously create. As of now it is THE Christmas gift of 2009!