the LEGO blocks and Bionicle action figures

I gave this as a birthday gift to my 9-year old son. With the box gift-wrapped, he initially thought it might be a board game but it was a lot heavier than most board games. His birthday was on a Wednesday which was a school day so we waited until Saturday morning to open it. He woke up at 5am and we started unpacking it. The first projects using a miniature lamp and motor with a propeller got him interested. We quickly breezed through the other experiments. He told me how they used a solar cell in his 3rd grade science class the day before which prompted him to jump to the experiment that uses the solar cell and see a more complex circuit in action that uses the solar cell for power.

I quickly realized that this is a logic extension to the LEGO blocks and Bionicle action figures that my son has been playing with for years. You can follow the projects to build preconceived circuits and later use your own experience and imagination to build your own circuits. There's a sense of gratification at the completion of a project and watching it work.

I'm an electrical engineer myself so I was able to explain to him in more details about the components and the basic operations. I showed him how to quickly build circuits without the use of the plastic grid punch/snap board. I like how the component symbols are illustrated on the parts which will prepare him to read schematic diagrams. I'm excited just thinking about how much fun, enjoyment and learning he'll get from using this.Our seven year old grandson will be receiving this for Christmas. We spent time at the Smithsonian American History Museum this past summer. They have a childrens' science center in the basement. Children, parents and grandchildren all flocked to the Snap Circuits table. Basically, this product teaches the how-to of electric circuitry. Fans were turning, flying saucers were sailing into the air, lights were turning on and off and the children were working together to make it happen. Our grandson decided he wanted to buy them in the gift store. I decided it would be a perfect gift. After talking with the customer service department of Elenco, the manufacturer, I became even more excited about the product. The representatives took time to explain the various versions of the kits and accessories. We decided on the 750 and the battery extender. His parents checked it out when I sent it to them and can hardly contain their excitement until their son opens the Snap Circuit 750 on Christmas. Our grandson loves to experiment, will be able to read the direction manuals and figure out other designs himself.

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