Snap Circuits – A Fun Way To Introduce Electronics

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Do your children love tinkering with electronics? Check out snap circuits! A fun and safe way to introduce your electronics in your homeschool.

Electronics are very popular around my house.

My husband works with electronics in his career and my boys have always been fascinated with electronics and how things work.  They love when my husband is tinkering with old computer parts and want to join in.  Sometimes they can but other times, like when soldering is involved, it is not safe for them to be working alongside him.

I went on a hunt to find something that would allow the boys to experiment independently into the world of electronics.  That is how I found snap circuits.

I purchased the Snap Circuits Jr 100 kit from Amazon.  There were so many different ones but I went with the Jr 100 because it seemed like it would be a great introduction.

Included in this kit are snap wires, different switches, an alarm circuit, a music integrated circuit, a speaker, and more!  All the pieces snap together easily on the included plastic grid – no soldering required!  The kit comes with over 100 project ideas which are easy to follow and understand.

Snap Circuit kits can be expanded with other kits to create even more fun projects.

Homeschooling With Snap Circuits

With electronics being such a huge part of modern society, understanding how electronics work in an important part of our homeschooling curriculum.

The boys are constantly asking questions about how things work, and most of those things have electronic components in them.  From computers and televisions to appliances in the kitchen, so many items in our homes operate with electronic components.  Circuits are everywhere, and Snap Circuits is a great way to explore this.  Even understanding how electricity flows can be demonstrated using Snap Circuits.

The great thing about snap circuits is exactly what they are named for – the snapping circuits.

There is no soldering, just pieces that all snap together easily.  While the recommended age is 8-108, even my two-year-old was able to help put the pieces together.  The pieces feel quite well made and therefore are not difficult to assemble, which is really nice.  Sometimes kits like these can take quite a bit of fine motor skills to be able to use.  Snap Circuits is really easy to put together which allows the children to learn without the unneeded stress of not being physically able to put the project together.

The Snap Circuit kit comes with an excellent reference book full of information and projects.  For each project, the different components and type of circuits being created are discussed.  It also discusses what not to do, like create a short circuit, and why it is not recommended.

Snap Circuits are a perfect STEM project for any homeschooling family.

But Snap Circuits are not just for homeschooled children!

They are appropriate for anyone, child through adult, that is interested in learning about how electronics work.  My husband is quite knowledgeable about the subject, but I am not ashamed to admit that I have learned alongside my children while playing and exploring with Snap Circuits.

Today we made all sorts of different projects – from basic circuits that turned a light on, to using different switches and sound boxes to create different alarms.

We had so much fun following the plans in the project journal as well as trying to create their own circuits.

I highly recommend Snap Circuits to anyone who had a child interested in electronics.

The opportunities for learning and exploration are endless with all the different kits and add-ons you can buy.  Even with just the single kit, we have been playing with this kit for a while now and have not built everything there is to build.  We keep rebuilding favourites and trying out new projects each time we bring out the box.

Do you own snap circuits?

What is your child’s favourite project to make?  Let me know in the comments!