Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100
by Elenco Electronics Inc
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List Price: Our Price: $20.14 You Save: $12.85 (39%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $9.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100
Customer Review: A fun toy that stimulates thought. . .
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought a similar kit (Radio Shack's Electronics 202 Snap Kit, same manufacturer though) for my 7 year old daugher who loves puzzles for Christmas.
I never saw her open it and it migrated to the bottom of the pile (she didn't know what it was). I discovered it unopened a few days ago (1 day after Xmas, basically) and told her what it was all about. We started making things (the 1st project is a light with a switch) and she fell in love with it. I had to head off to work. When I came home, she took the kit back out (she had put all the pieces back into their shipping slots so as not to lose anything) and showed me some 'cool projects'. The 202 kit has a motor & a spinning disc that she found to be very neat.
I've taken the time to explain polarity and she's listened. She knows how to check her work before testing her projects. When things don't work right, she's learned some trouble-shooting procedures to identify a potentially open circuit (missing a snap segment?) or a reversed diode.
Last night she built an AM radio that actually worked (though very low volume).
I've started to show her how to substitue parts (lowering the speaker volume on sound projects by placing a higher value resistor in series, etc).
My only regret is that I didn't realize there was a more complete kit (Electronics 303 Snap kit) that can interface to a Computer too. . .
If you have a child that is into building blocks, puzzles, or is inquisitive as to how things work (this basically sums up all children) this is a must. . .
btw: My older daugher (9) and my son (4) will flock to us when we are working on 'cool projects' now.
Customer Review: Surprisingly Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
I've always been very inclined towards science and science related things. In my childhood, I used to do a lot of fun with science but didn't have much access to science toys except magnet so I used to depend upon more naturally available forms of science. When I had a kid, I always thought that I'd give him all the access and though he's just 7 but he asks a lot of science questions and definitely inclined so I got him various science related toys including some of heavenly priced one but he was never so interested in playing with those but he was interested in the end result. When I saw Snap Circuits Jr on Amazon, I immediately fell in love with this but I was apprehensive as it could be another toy in my kid's big toy library without much of use but somehow I thought that it should be my last attempt to get him involved in any tech toy and bought it. I opened the pack once it reached our home and made a sound activated musical bell and showed it to my kid. In my next project, my kid supplied me the stuff and from there on, I couldn't get my hands on it as he already made over 15 projects with that including some of the very complex ones. I'm completely fascinated with the neatly aligned board, diagrammatic representation in the manual, nice finishing of the parts and easy to learn approach. It's highly productive toy and it's so easy to get started with it that it becomes a toy more than a science toys and then you'll be flooded with questions about various terms and outputs which will definitely enhance the knowledge of your kids.
I loved it and I'm sure there's no reason why anyone will not like it. Highly recommended!!
Customer Review: Educational and Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
I work for an industrial electronics repair company and my 8 year old has visited me at work many times. He is fascinated by the types of equipment that we have at our facility for repair and has asked me tons of questions to which I don't have the answers (I am not a technician). I ordered this set for him as a Christmas gift since I knew it was something that would interest him, but it was not something that he had asked for. After the dust settled under the tree, imagine my surprise when it was the first gift he opened to play with. He very quickly built the "flying saucer" and the "space war" models. The instructions are fantastic- in color and easy to follow with explanations for each model. And the number of models and variations that can be built with this set will keep him busy for quite some time. He hasn't even had it a week and has played with it 4 or 5 times already. I am also impressed with the quality of this set. The parts seem to be durable and should stand up to the demands of a very curious 8 year old.
As for the educational/learning value of this set, I can honestly say that he has truly learned something from playing with it and I think he is very proud of what he has learned. Today he went with me to my office and he started up a conversation with one of the technicians (who was in the process of repairing a large circuit board) about circuit boards, resistors, jumper cords - all items at the technician's station, that he had just learned about with this set. Fantastic!!
Customer Review: Great way to introduce science concepts to girls
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this set for my science-loving daughter when she was 6 years old. My husband's eyes immediately lit up when he saw it but after spending just a few minutes with her going over the concepts and parts, my daughter has been building circuits all by herself. She's learned about building parallel circuits, circuits with LEDs, the whole concept of on/off and completing a circuit, and she's experimented with what materials can be used to complete a circuit from water and metal to cloth and food, and much more. This set is well thought out and safe and very user friendly. The science concepts are as in depth as you want them to be - this set could be just for fun (and it IS fun!) or serve a deeper purpose. The booklet that accompanies the set is easy to follow, my daughter rarely asks for adult clarification for anything, and the pieces are easy to store in the box. She will often go on a building frenzy, building a dozen or more circuits in a row. I can't wait to purchase the next level up kit for her when she's outgrown this one. My daughter has an interest in robots and learning basic circuitry through this set was an excellent introduction to some of the skills she will need. I am a former science teacher and would have loved to use these in the classroom, but as a parent, they are equally awesome and I'm glad my daughter has fun circuit building. The fun, hands-on science activities like these are the ones that stay with you when it's time to understand the concepts behind them. I highly recommend this set.Customer Review: What a great, educational science find!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful "toy"! My 10 year-old loves it! Without going through all of the experiments, he has already started altering the projects for different results. There are explanations with almost all of the projects explaining WHY it works the way it does. I doubt my son is reading all of them--but he is obviously reading some of the explanations because he is explaining to me what is happening!
Basically, there are all these "circuits" and they snap together easily, and remove as easily. The snap is great in that they stay together quite well so that people using it won't get frustrated if it were to fall apart. The person using the item almost doesn't need to read, because if they just follow the picture, they can "do" it.
The box says for ages 8-108--and I have to admit that although I have no real interest in electronics, I have enjoyed some of the projects my son has made. One WARNING: the speaker is quite loud--exactly what the littlest kids in our house love!
As to durability, sometimes the speaker doesn't work very well, or maybe it is one of the circuits. But it an otherwise wonderful product--and I will need to eventually purchase the Regular version Snap Circuits (as opposed to Snap Circuits Jr. and Snap Circuits Pro), since the regular version is listed as for ages 10 and up, so I am hoping that it is a bit more challenging.
Finally, a homeschool science my children can't put down!