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We have the Snap Circuits 300, I think. We have 2 of their accessory kits. We also have assorted breadboards, resistors, capacitors etc because we have a few electronic hobbyists at home! The SnapCircuits set gets used off and on, and it was easy for DS to build all the circuits in their sample booklet by himself at age 5.

Snapcircuits have become my DS's "signature gift" for birthday parties for the past few years.

The thing that I wan to add is that please make a strict rule in your house for your kids to wash their hands thoroughly after using snapcircuits. This is not an alarmist warning - I just have this warning in place in my home for all electronic components because they inherently contain metals and chemicals that we might not want our kids to touch (for e.g. the leadfree solder we bought for a hobby project actually contained 25% lead when I read the small print ... etc).

oh gosh thanks for that Ashley! I will make sure to implement that rule AND print it in the supplier insert when I sell the kits too

Madoosa, just to make it clear - it is good to be genereally cautious with electronic components because they use heavy metal. I am not saying that Snap Circuits has a problem. I am just saying that it is a good rule of thumb to follow. Please ensure that you say that when you sell the kits because we don't want to offend snapcircuits company, who for all we know make a mercury free, lead free or cadmium free product

LOL Yeah I get that totally! Since I am the current sole importer of their goods I really *REALLY* don't want to upset them at all.

A bit about general safety and cautions should be fine though I think - that is kind of along the lines of what I do usually.

Thank you for your care and concern

My DD got a set as a present from some family friends last Christmas. It is the SC-300. It warms my heart when I recall the happy and amazed look on her face the first time she did the 'flying spinner' (or whatever it was called) circuit. Seeing how she could follow the instructions without help and then perform her own experiments to broaden her understanding is what has convinced me that she might be ready for the EV3...

If your DS doesn't mouth objects, I'd say go for it. My DS (24mo) LOVES his kit. He has trouble with the single and double links, but he can use his palm to apply enough downward pressure to snap the longer links to the board. The integrated circuit pieces are bigger and easier for small hands. And, nothing stops him from giving me detailed instructions and outsourcing the fine motor work!

I don't know if all kits include the fan- that and the music IC are DS' favourite components.

We've finally found the sweet spot between advanced interests and fine motor ability with this toy. DS is obsessed with the SC-100 kit and plays for hours!

Every single family so far here in South Africa that has bought this kit has e-mailed me to say how much their kids are loving it! Many have ordered more - and I cannot keep stock long enough to even try get demo units out to schools, to magazines for reviews or to retail stores to try get them in there. Since mid december I have sold out three shipments and the fourth is on it's way.

Freaking awesome kits! My kids play with theirs every single day without fail.