nature girl Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Have any of your young (4-6 yo) kids gotten anything out of Snap Circuits? Are they fun/exciting long term, or something that gets put away and rarely used? Are they educational in any kind of lasting way, or do kids just mindlessly follow directions? (I realize I'd have to work with her for her to learn anything, but wonder if at this age that teaching would even mean much.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrale Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Yes! My son got them for his 4th birthday and he loves them. He has learnt a lot of out resisters, open and closed circuits. And so much more that I can't think of right now. Learning to read schematics is a handy skill also. Each project explains how of works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 I also have a dd4 who really enjoys them. She actually got the Junior set when she was 3, and has since gotten a couple more expansion sets. For her, I wouldn't say she plays with them daily, but at least 1-2 times per week? I posted this in another thread about gifts for four year olds as well, so apologies if anyone read it there. We were at a major children's museum a couple of weeks ago and the wonderful folks from Big Thoughts for Little People were there with stations set up for the kids. One of the absolutely most popular was a large table full of Snap Circuits. I was quite suprised by how many of the most interested kids were in the under five age bracket! Even more fantastic were the conversations. Preschoolers telling other kids about sets at home, advising other children to build their series in parallel, asking other kids to pass parts by name. It was really pretty cool. Here is the thing. I think the very best information that young kids will take away from them is a working idea of how electricity and electrical gadgets work. It really helps get rid of that 'black box' mentality, as well as helps create the ability to question how and why things work. Truly, even my dd4 will ask how electrical items work...I think that can be pretty common with more mechanical items that kids can SEE, but much harder for kids to grasp with things like electricity that they cannot. Snap Circuits allow them to see this. I also LOVE the problem-solving aspect of it. Following schematics, as Korrale said, but also trying to build their own items. Oh! And whilst they are pretty sturdy, it is important to note that the company will usually send free replacement parts:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 My 4 and 6 year old have been using them for a couple months, they have a lot of fun with them. My 6 year old is better at problem solving when one doesn't work correctly, part of that is his personality and part of that is age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Yes. My boys first played with them at age 5, I think. I'm not sure why the beginner set is labeled 8 or 9 and up. The opening stuff you can do is pretty simple. Easier than a Lego set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 If you're having to ask, I wouldn't bother. My ds enjoys them at age 5, but my dd enjoyed them at age 9/10 and for many years after that. There's absolutely no need to rush. Expose her to a variety of things to see what she clicks with. My dd did an art camp around that age and fell in love with sculpting. She did it avidly for many years. Just try a variety of things. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Snap Circuits...my 17 months old son loves these!!!! He is nonverbal but loves that helicopter like project where that spinning things flies up when you hit this stop switch or something like that. He hands my older daughters who are 10,12 and 12 yrs all the parts that are needed to make the project!! This baby loves wires, gadgets and buttons and switches. He has not ever swallowed the pieces. Granted we have lego pieces everywhere and again no swallowing of anything. I keep the snap circuits in a large tupperware storage so the kids have no qualms about taking it out and mixing up all the pieces to make their projects. When they were in a box, we hardly played with them because we were neurotic about making sure they were all in the right places. I say go for it. If the kids see you playing with it, they will do it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courtney_Ostaff Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 My DD6 got a snap circuits radio for Christmas, and while she enjoys hanging while adults put it together, she has absolutely no interest beyond it being a functional radio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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