THE OTHER DAY, I LINKED TO this electronic project kit and suggested it would make a good “hands-on” toy for the right kid. Reader Kat Wilton emails:
The Snap Circuits “toy” you linked to on Amazon is very good! We got it two years ago for our now 11 y.o. daughter, and she’s still enjoying it. I would especially recommend this if Mom or Dad is going to join in: there is plenty of opportunity for both the adult *and* child to learn a lot. My husband, who is the Jack-of-all-trades in this family, also manages to use the Snap Circuits to give our Munchkin a jump-off point to learning more about electronics and math.
Excellent, fun, AND educational – can’t beat that for a present!
Or for a recommendation. Nice to know. It looked cool — like an updated version of the Radio Shack electronic project kits I used when I was a kid.
UPDATE: More from reader Ron Mahn:
I bought the Snap Circuits “toy” for my 4 y.o. daughter last Christmas and she loves it. She is 5 now and has some basic electronics down. She knows the difference between conductors and insulators, more resistance means the speaker will put out less sound, and that you have to complete a circuit to make the light work. We got the next bigger one for her birthday in May (because it has a radio, I am a ham and my daughter has been on the air since the day she turned 3). It is a bit advanced, so we do mostly projects from the smaller one. It is a great opportunity to do things together, and hopefully build the foundation for a little bit of communication in her teen years (I hope).
Sounds cool. Sounds like a smart four-year-old, too.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Katie Kearns emails:
We have the “junior” version for our four year old, and just yesterday he got it out and put together a quick circuit to launch some weird little twirly thing into the air, and then worked on lighting the light bulb. He also learned that, yes, you do need to put the battery in the circuit for it to work. ;)
He can’t even read, but he did seem to have the schematics out and I guess they helped him some? :D Having snaps to stick together instead of little wires or clips makes it so much easier to work with.
Two thumbs up!
Cool.