Snap Circuits for nearly 7 year old?

[Mesmeri]

Hi all. I'm trying to find a present for my eldest. He'll be 7 at the end of February. I have read about Snap Circuits and thinking they sound good, but I'm not sure if he's still a bit young...

He's been massively into Lego for a long time and has been building without any help for a year or 2 now, including kits labelled as above his age group. But the instructions are all in pictures, so very easy to follow for someone who can't/can barely read. Would he need a lot of help to enjoy snap circuits or just a bit to get started?

So, if your kids have done these, what do you think? Is mine still too young for them? And if not, which one would you recommend beginning with (there seem to be a lot!) Thanks! :)

My dd1 got snap circuits for her 7th birthday and took to them right away, so I think you'll be fine. He is certainly old enough to build the circuits in the book (it's easier than lego), my dd1 needs some help understanding why the more complex circuits work or getting her own circuits to work. But she likes it.

Same here, DS was able to put together the projects in the book pretty quickly and could make some very simple changes (add a switch, swap lights for buzzers etc)

However it's only now at around 11 he's really been able to understand the more complex ones and build his own designs. I'd day it's stood the test of time though as he still gets them out every so often.

Brilliant, thanks Stompythedinosaur & gigglingHyena, that's really helpful. Any suggestions which kit to start with - there seem to be several brands, and some with (presumably more bits) significantly higher prices than others?

My son got the Snap
Circuits Jr kit (says model SC-100 on the box) for his 8th birthday (I think / poss 7th). It has over 100 projects in the manual - it’s great, will last ages.

Thanks, JessicaJoans :)

We got our dc BrainBox kits when they were 4 & 5. They took to them straight away and have been playing with them ever since. They are 8 & 9 years old now. We have added to their collection over the years so we have loads now. There’s currently a big experiment on the dining room table ready to be finished.

Snap Circuits Jr. - SC-100 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00008BFZH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_EDTZBbTANTF7?tag=mumsnetforum-21
DS got this one last Christmas (he was 6.5 then) and still plays with ita lot. I'd go for this size to start with.

Ours are the cambridge Brain Box kits shown above. I think we started with the Primary 2, since DD had already used that one in school.

Our next step was a huge ebay bundle, the car kit is fun although the boat not so much.

I bought the starter set for my nephew and while it was OK I wish I'd upgraded to the bigger kit.

My six yr old can do them but needs a bit of help. So he’ll do the majority, but I need to be dotting about nearby as he’ll ask me to help him find a piece or to check it through if he builds it and it doesn’t work.

We got them for DS at about that age. He still loves them a couple of years on. The sets are compatible so you can just keep adding to it.

I think if he's working at that level with Lego he'll be fine with Snap Circuits Jnr. We got it for our very techy DS for his 6th birthday last year and he's loved playing with it and can do so pretty independently.

Fantastic, thanks everyone! Sold, I think... :)

We got the John Adams set which is similar for ds(14) when he was 7 or 8, played with twice did the first few experiments and now gathering dust in the loft. Thought he would have loved it as his strengths have anyways been maths and science but tbh we both found it quite tedious.