Michelle My Bell Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Up until yesterday, I had never heard of Snap Circuits but they have a lot of stars on Amazon. My almost 9 year old daughter is very science minded. She loves when I do REAL Science Odyssey, loves to watch Magic School Bus etc... Is this something she would enjoy? What kit would you purchase? Also, what about these Science Kits on Amazon? Anyone use them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Love them. DS1 has been using them for a few years now. He's almost 8. THey get a lot of play from him. We have the 750 set bought on super sale. When he was younger, DH and I helped him with the projects, but I'd say by age 6 he could follow the diagrams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 My boys love them. It's the one present from last Christmas that they still play with regularly. We purchased the 750 kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 My science loving kids got bored w/ them really fast. I think we had the 300 set, not sure anymore. They thought they were really cool for about a day, maybe two then never touched them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 My son got them last year for christmas, when he was 11. He acted like they were too nerdy for him, but one night my husband got them out and started fooling with them and then my son was hooked! He begged to stay up and do more! Love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 DS has an older electronics kit that's like snap circuits, but with actual wires and stuff. He loves it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 I bought them as a gift for a friend's son this year and then another set for dd after reading about them here. I think they will be a big hit but if not I figure I'll just use them as a science lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 My kids have had them for a while and it is one of the items that gets used then put away, then pulled out and used again, over and over. Their favorite feature is the helicopter/fan blade. They also use the small motor to spin discs of different colors for an optical illusion effect. They also like making a spinning platform and then putting various small characters on the platform to see how they fare. They have done several 4H projects with these sets and their exhibits have always drawn in adults as well as kids. My kids are now 13 and 15 and as they have gotten older, they have found more and more interesting projects to do with the sets. When they were younger they just followed the diagrams and didn't get as much out of them. Another item my kids have gotten a lot of mileage out of is magnets. Especially the Geomag sets -- much better quality than some of the other brands. They also like the Buckyball magnet sets. Of course, my kids also like big bags of cornstarch in their stockings. Non-newtonian fluids anyone? :001_smile::001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 My DS8 loves Snap Circuits. However, I don't feel they are as good as they could be, not necessarily instructional in and of themselves. I think you can manipulate them for a long time without developing a real understanding of the hows and whys of circuitry. DH is very knowledgeable about these things and when he interacts with DS doing the Snap Circuits, it is a beautiful thing. Lots of, "If you do this, what changes? Why won't it work? Try that." And then the important part, lots of Greek stuff that I don't understand :tongue_smilie:, but that helps DS truly understand what he's doing and why it works or not. Plus, it gives him the vocabulary instead of just oohs and ahs. In the absence of this kind of guidance, it just feels like a toy to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Snap Circuits are wonderful, truly. Buy them and enjoy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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