Elenco Snap Kits, Great for STEM

Building a strong foundation in a child’s education is essential to ensure that they have the skills to function as an adult. This has become even more obvious with the STEM and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering Art and Math) buzz generated within the last few years as future jobs will require more and more skill to perform, and many parents have been jumping on the wagon to make sure their kids aren’t left behind. But with so many options to teach kids STEM, what are the best choices?

While this is somewhat up to the parent to discover their child’s particular interest and skills, an easy and affordable option to explore are the Snap Circuit Kits made by Elenco. Elenco makes many award winning educational toys, and industrial test equipment but a clear stand out for STEM development are their Snap Circuits. These kits are great because they teach children about electricity, but require no soldering or mess because they snap easily into place and all pieces are color coded and clearly labelled. Sets are also expandable as they work with other Elenco Snap Circuit kits as well.

While there are many kits to choose from, here are a few that are unique or that give you more for your money.

The most obvious choice for a low cost gateway kit is the Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 kit. For under $20, you get about 100 experiments, enough to keep any kid busy for a little while. Some features of this kit are that it’s great for builders, has experiments with sounds, lights, voice control and much more. For the price, you won’t find a better introduction to STEM.

A little more spendy, but possibly more useful, is the FM Radio Kit which builds a working FM radio. It’s better than an actual radio though, because your child will have to build it and will learn how it works so whenever they kick back to some tunes they’ll remember making it and why it works. The downside is that the kit has only 3 other experiments, an electronic kazoo, a trumpet and a power amplifier. But since the pieces will work in other kits, this could make a fun add-on to another set, and at the end of the day, your child has built a radio that works.

Another interesting kit that works alone or as an expansion is the 3D Illumination kit which features more than 150 projects and some very unique parts that are loads of fun. But for the kid who has “been there, done that” there’s the SC-750 which has enough stuff to do with, you guessed it, more than 700 experiments. Really, with a couple different kits, the possibilities are practically endless. It’s the perfect cure for “I’m bored.”

One last note for parents, a couple accessories that will save your sanity and ultimately your wallet are the aptly named Battery Eliminator a great investment at the price of 2 packs of batteries and the storage case which will hopefully prevent the snap pieces from being ground underfoot on the floor.

Popular with parents, and winner of numerous awards, the Elenco Snap Kits are a great option for parents looking to get their kids off the iPad, Xbox or Nintendo Switch and learning some useful skills.

Have you and your kids played with these snap kits before? Share your thought on them by reviewing them here!