Has anyone used Snap Circuits for an 8th/9th grader as their science course?...

[MI Mom]

According to what we understand if the child completes the whole program they would have the information equal to a first year electronics course on the college level. Our ds will be 8th gr. level in the fall. We are thinking that if he works through a good part of it this year (student guides for Model SC-300R and part/most of the guide for Model SC-500R) and saves the student guide for Model SC-750 to do at some point in high school he would have enough knowledge under his belt to count as an elective on the high school level. I would love comments on this idea.

Moreover though I am wondering if anyone would be willing to share exactly how you used this program. I mean what did your days look like? What did you require your child to do each day? What was he expected to memorize? Did he do drawings of the circuits? How long did you spend each day? How often and what did you require your child to include in papers (lab reports etc.) written on this? Anything else?

Thanks!

[Soph the vet]

My husband just ordered this (I think it is the same thing) and we are planning on using it some next year as part of our physics year. Our kids will only be 5th, 3rd, and K. But dh is an engineer and is very excited about this whole snap circuits thing. We'll have to let eachother know how its going!

[st_claire]

I've never used it, but I've seen it in stores at it looks great! I didn't realize there was a whole program though, I thought it was just a toy. Does the program come with it, or do you buy it separately?


As far as what he should learn in an electronics course, here are some thoughts. I think he should definitely learn what the different symbols mean by heart. Has he taken logic yet? He should understand how AND and OR and NOT works. He should be able to build/draw some basic circuits by heart, like an adder for example (great final exam question). He should understand how logic gates work internally. He should understand LEDs, networking (the circuit kind, not the computer kind), and how to solder. I would pick up some university/college level textbooks (electrical circuits, networking, digital systems, logic) and see what they cover and then pick and choose what you want to include. You can take a look at the texts for free at a college/university library most likely. I would also include some projects to give him soldering practice, as snap circuits doesn't have that but at his age he could probably handle it easily. Go to a surplus electronics store and ask them what hobby kits they sell, or check out radioshack/circuit city.


Hope that helps :)

[KAR120C]

If I were using it for a year of science, I would definitely consider doing the course through Quick Study Labs (http://www.quickstudylabs.com). The Snap Circuits themselves are fun, and give you a pretty good idea of how things work, but the explanations in the materials that come with them are VERY THIN. I wouldn't consider it college level at all. The guy at Quick Study Labs, though, is a community college electronics instructor. The kids use the Snap Circuits for their assignments, but the explanations are from the teacher.

We haven't used it yet (I think it will be next year -- after the current physics class is done), but a good friend of mine has had her 12 year old using it for the past year and has been impressed. I've seen the materials he has printed out and they're much, much better than what comes with the Snap Circuits themselves.

[happy2homeschool]

We have a few snap circuits kits and we love them. The instructions tell you how to build things -- am/fm radio, doorbell, fan, etc. -- but there are no other explanations in the kits. I hope someone posts how they use these for science because I would love to know this!