Aspiring young engineers can learn all about the inner workings of circuits — it’s a snap!
STEM toys manufacturer Elenco is giving learning another playful spark by relaunching Snap Circuits Junior to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of Snap Circuits. This electronic experiment kit is designed for kids ages 8 and up and is an award-winning addition to Elenco’s long-standing Snap Circuits line.
Snap Circuits Junior features simple electrical experiments that kids can easily build by snapping individual pieces together and onto a plastic grid. The kit uses two AA batteries (not included) as a power source for all its experiments and snap wires or jumper wires to connect individual parts and create an electrical current between them. Experiments also feature special parts that are included in the kit, such as a spinning motor, a colorful LED light, a speaker, a whistle chip, a lamp, a slide switch, and a press switch.
Like other products in the Snap Circuits line, Snap Circuits Junior’s snapping mechanism is simple but effective. Kids can snap pieces together with metal snaps — like the ones that you sometimes see on jackets instead of buttons— and they remain secure once linked. The kit offers substantial play potential, with more than 70 different experiments kids can create and customize.
For each of these experiments, kids build a circuit that (if assembled correctly) completes a certain task or performs an action. For example, one circuit sends a spinning fan into the air like a helicopter, while another powers a speaker that will play space-themed sound effects. Kids can also use the kit to create an electric light, a musical doorbell, and a siren.
The instruction manual that the kit comes with provides good safety precautions and does a good job of explaining complex concepts, such as what short circuits are (and how to avoid creating them) and why you should never connect experiments to electrical outlets. However, because of the substantial number of experiments, the manual doesn’t provide step-by-step building instructions for each experiment. Instead, the completed experiment builds are illustrated from a top-down view instead of a 3D view, meaning kids must have good spatial awareness to build the more advanced experiments in this kit.
Because of safety concerns and some advanced builds’ complexity, parents are encouraged to assist kids in the first few play sessions with Snap Circuits Junior, until they’re familiar with the kit enough to play on their own.
Overall, Snap Circuits Junior is a great way to introduce kids to electronic kits and to science toys in general. For a reasonable price, parents can give kids dozens of hours of educational fun.
