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, educational toy
Summary: 5 Stars
My wife got this as a present for our 6 year old daughter unbeknownst to me--I probably would have never bought it on my own. Over the course of a couple of evenings however, I find this to be one of the best educational toys yet. The lego-like architecture with actual lights, sounds, and motors has captured the attention of both my daughter and I. She is able to put the circuits together without much help, and we are both learning about electronics.
There are a couple of downsides. There is a possibilty of breaking things if power sources other than the included battery pack are used, short circuits, or reversed polarities. The instructions are good about covering this. The instructions, however, treat the integrated circuits like black-boxes. It would be nice to see more information about what they are, and better coverage on the input and outputs. Also, the instructions seem to be written with a quota on the number of "projects". Many of the projects are simple variations of each other, sometimes with a single component reversed. It would be better to have less projects, but with more details about each, including variations.
Customer Review: The Favorite Christmas Toy
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked this set out based on reviews. I'm not even sure how I actually found the name of this toy, but I'm so glad that I did. We were considering buying a Lego robotics set for my daughter, but they were very expensive, and we didn't want to invest hundreds for something that she might(/not) like. This was an awesome alternative. She loved it and spent hours on Christmas Day playing with it. Lots of family traipsing past her and she sat in the middle of the living room floor following the easy to understand directions and building various experiments. She learned about open and closed circuits and was easily able to see how changing small features of the design could impact the results of the experiment.
This was an awesome set and I would highly recommend it to anyone. We are even thinking about buying other sets in the future. It can easily provide hours of fun. THe set comes with 100 designs that will entertain and educate any kid (and parent). The pieces are easy to assemble and the directions are easy to understand. My daughter told me that it was her favorite toy this Christmas.
Customer Review: Ranks with Legos, Erector Sets and Lincoln logs
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't lightly endorse products, but this gift we purchased has to rate in the top 20 that I've ever seen. It's for any child with a busy and inquisitive mind. We purchased two (gifts for kids on each side of the family). They were initially sat aside, as the boy didn't know what they were (they weren't on any Christmas list). After things settled down, I sat down with each boy and we began constructing things with them. There are many pieces, but they have a molded plastic tray with a storage diagram. Each piece actually snaps to the next using a snap you might find on clothing - no screws or any other types of fasteners! The instructions for each experiment are very clear with good color coding for each part to ease assembly. There is an easy to understand paragraph at the side of each experiment explaining what you're doing and what is to be learned.
I would rank this toy with Legos, erector sets and Lincoln logs. The one warning that I'd offer would be that you might need to buy two - one for your child and one for yourself. A very fun, yet educational gift!
Customer Review: Why didn't someone do this earlier!
Summary: 5 Stars
Think of this as the Legos approach to wiring. We've bought two for two boys here (I'm trying to draw out the girl...) and are considering a trade-up for the boy who methodically did ALL of the experiments. I grew up with the little jumper wire and spring terminal kits which do not provide anywhere near as appealing and understandable a layout and were much harder to work with and troubleshoot. Contrariwise, is hard to improvise with the fixed shape of the components and connectors, but that's not really important for this age group. Pieces do of course get lost, but how much can you ask of the little darlings (don't flush them!!!).
One quibble, more a problem with the next larger kit: I think they cheat claiming the kit supports XXX [30-750] different projects. Many projects are subtle enough variations on what came before that they don't count for much.
I'm really very pleased with these kits -- high praise from toy-jaded me -- they are a genuine improvement in learning and, more importantly, *playing* with electronics.
Customer Review: A mechanically-minded child's dream toy
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my son's 6th birthday. He has the mind of a future engineer, so I knew he'd love it and be able to learn a lot from it. At first my husband or I sat down with him and read the instructions with him and helped him with putting together the circuits. After a few, he was ready to do them on his own. The pieces are quite durable. The instruction booklet is pretty clear, but there were some circuits that we had to look at closely and try a few options before they worked, which is all part of the educational process, in my opinion. Our son doesn't yet read at the level at which the instruction book is written, so although he's learned some basics about electical circuits, he'll be able to keep learning more of the nuances as he is able to read and understand more of the explanations in the book. We may add to this set someday with some of the additions that are available. Oh, and, it has kept my son busy and interested for HOURS! All in all, I'd highly recommend this set to any person with an interest in "how things work."