Introduced back in early 2020, the SMARTIVITY family of do-it-yourself kits by Elenco — makers of the also-excellent Snap Circuits product line — are a series of wood-and-rubber-band activity kits designed to get kids thinking about and playing with all kinds of scientific, mechanical, and mathematic subjects: gravity, hydraulics, centrifugal force, elasticity, optics, momentum, pressure, and so on.

To that end, they offer a whole bunch of different engineering kits to explore those topics:

• Pinball Machine ($39) — Teaches kids about levers, momentum, and energy transfer.
• Music Machine ($44) — A fully functioning mechanical xylophone for learning about gear mechanics, vibrations, and musical notes.
• Pirate’s Telescope ($37) — Refraction, depth of field, and trigonometric ratio.
• Chain Reaction ($55) — The domino effect, momentum transfer, and gravity.
• Hydraulic Crane ($30) — Hydraulics, pressure, and simple machines.
• Kaleidoscope ($30) — Mirrors, reflection, and color theory.
• Globe Explorer ($34) — An AR-enabled wooden globe that teaches about the geographic coordinate system, day versus night, trade routes, cultures and languages, cuisines around the world, etc.

…and there are even more where that came from. No matter which one you start with, you will quickly see how these kits get your kid thinking more critically, creatively, and confidently as they learn through play.

Buy Now

This year for Christmas, our now-8yo son got a gift from Santa that combines two of his favorite toys: Snap Circuits and LEGOs.

It’s the Snap Circuits “BRIC: Structures” kit, and it comes with 75 “bric-2-snap” adapters that allow Snap Circuits connectors to integrate with LEGOs (and other building bricks of that ilk) to create 3D structures that light up, play sounds, and more. To that end, the set also includes a series of LED lights, a bunch of miscellaneous building bricks, a fiberoptic tree, a melody maker, a battery holder (3 AAs not included), and more.

The kit’s illustrated instructional booklet walks you through building 26 projects, including:

• A skyscraper
• Various kinds of houses
• A colorful light projector/display you can shine upward at a wall (either one built with the blocks or any nearby wall in your house)
• A “bric mammal” with light-up eyes
• A light post
• …and more.

He and I are really excited to try out all the projects in the book and then make some cool stuff of our own with his existing LEGO collection.

The kit is $32 on Amazon if you’d like to try it out too.

Buy Now

Elenco’s Snap Circuits series of kits have long been among my favorite projects for kids. They’re a fantastic way to introduce young’uns to electrical engineering concepts without dealing with tools or hot soldering irons — the circuit components simply and literally snap together to do cool stuff.

Their Snap Circuits Motion kit focuses on concepts of motion and physics, with over 50 snap-together parts and instructions for 168 projects that kids can complete, including:

• Assembling a walking “crawler” bot
• Building an airplane with a spinning, animated-LED propeller (it doesn’t fly though, FYI)
• Build a model car that responds to switches for movement
• Setting up a motion-detecting alarm
• Creating a merry-go-round with music and light

Components include various kinds of switches, resistors, motors, diodes, gears of differing sizes (you can experiment with ratios!), jumper snap wires, a speaker, a motion detector, an air fountain (with included ball and spout), and more.

The Motion kit is $56 on Amazon. I do recommend checking out all the other sets available as well, because there’s a kit for just about every engineering focus.

Buy Now

I’ve always been kind of a sucker for geeky kid stuff. I grew up watching shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy and Beakman’s World, and of course I had one of those Creepy Crawlers bug-maker kits. Now that I’m a dad, I like to keep an eye out for these same kinds of geeky things I can share with my son when he’s a bit older.

Today I found just the thing: the Snap Circuits Alternative Energy Kit. This thing is chock full of circuits and other cool parts – such as a hand crank, a solar cell, an FM radio, a windmill, and a lot more – that can be assembled in 125+ ways (don’t worry, there are step-by-step instructions) to help teach kids about electricity and alternative forms of energy. Educational!

What’s even more impressive to me is that this kit has a 5-star Amazon rating with nearly 100 reviews, so clearly the other parents are loving it. It also appears to be a good deal, because the list price is normally $80 but it’s available for $46 right now.

Buy Now