Snap Circuits: 4 Award-Winning Electronic Kits

Electronics permeate our lives, from the televisions in our living rooms to the smartphones in our pockets to the everyday devices—light switches, fans, digital clocks, you name it—that make our world more efficient and convenient. Yet for many, the inner workings of these electrical devices remain a mystery.

Enter Snap Circuits, Elenco’s innovative electronics kits that illuminate the world of electronics, teaching everyone from ages 8 to 108 about circuitry in fun and engaging ways. Snap Circuits employs one-of-a-kind snapping components and colorful beginner-friendly instructions that make learning electronics fun, safe, and approachable. 

The award-winning kits are taking STEM education by storm, making their way into classrooms and homes, and providing hours of playful building and prototyping. Here’s everything you need to know about this groundbreaking electronics kit.

What are Snap Circuits?

Created by Elenco, Snap Circuits are a popular line of educational electronic kits that are designed to teach basic engineering, electronics, and circuitry principles. 

The kits contain innovative snap-together electronic components and a colorful, user-friendly manual with numerous project ideas. The patented safety devices and snap-together design make it convenient to experiment with different circuit configurations and learn about electricity in a safe, beginner-friendly way. 

Here are some of the key features that make Snap Circuits stand out: 

Innovative Electronic Components that Snap Together

The plug-and-play kits consist of electronic components in the form of plastic modules that snap together to create electrical connections on a circuit board device.

The snapping modules include resistors, capacitors, transistors, LEDs, switches, motors, and other common electronic components. The components are large, colorful, and numbered so they’re easier to identify and much harder to lose when compared to traditional components. 

Beginner-Friendly Manuals with 100+ Project Ideas

All Snap Circuits kits come with a project manual containing step-by-step instructions and color-coded, labeled diagrams for building a variety of circuits, such as alarms, radios, doorbells, light switches, and more. 

Each project is accompanied by a clear explanation of the underlying principles and concepts, helping users understand the fundamentals of electronics.

Patented Safety Features 

Snap Circuits uses Elenco’s Circuit Safe Fuse Technology, which provides an added layer of protection against excessive current flow and potential damage to the circuit or components. These and other safety features make it possible for young children to explore electronics in a way they never have before. 

Award-Winning

Snap Circuits’ one-of-a-kind approach to electronics education has earned them a variety of awards and acclaim, including Toy of the Year (TOTY), ASTRA'S Best Toys for Kids, Parent's Choice Recommended, Good Housekeeping's Best Toy, Family Choice, National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA Gold), Children's Choice, Dr. Toy (100 Best Children's Products, 10 best Educational Products, Green Toy Company), the inaugural Seriously STEM award, and the KAPi Award.

Best Snap Circuits Kits (+ Manuals!)

1. Snap Circuits® Jr. 100-In-1 Electronics Kit - SC-100

Snap Circuits Jr Manual (Printed)

Snap Circuits Jr Manual (Online)

For the absolute beginner in electronics, Snap Circuits Jr. is the perfect starting point. The printed manual includes an educational introduction to electricity and describes how different electronic components work. Components include a motor, fan, speaker, and various integrated circuits.

The printed manual outlines over 70 projects, and more project tutorials can be found in the online manual, totaling 130 projects overall. The first project involves creating a light circuit. The following projects modify and build onto this circuit to generate colored lighting, power a fan, play music, and more. 

Once users have a foundational knowledge of various circuits and how components work together, they can start generating their own projects. Snap Circuits kits are compatible with each other, so you purchase and combine Snap Circuits components from other kits to create more complex circuits. 

2. Snap Circuits® Light Electronics Kit - SCL-175

Snap Circuits Lights Manual (Printed)

Snap Circuits Lights Manual (Online)

The Light Electronics Kit from Snap Circuits is far and away one of the most popular STEM kits on the market, sporting over 175 projects using components like fiber optic lights, glow-in-the-dark fans, microphones, motors, and various integrated components (along with classic components like transistors, resistors, switches, and more!).

The manual explains what each component is and includes fantastic educational sections about electricity and light. Compared to Snap Circuits Jr., this kit is a bit more involved, but the light shows are well worth the effort. 

The dazzling projects teach users about fiber optics, infrared technology, LEDs, motion control, amplifiers, 3D technology, and so much more. With over 50 components, users can experiment with their own projects, offering hours and hours of educational and creative play. 

3. Snap Circuits® Classic 300-In-1 Electronics Kit - SC-300

Snap Circuits Classic Manual (Printed)

Snap Circuits Classic Manual (Online)

Snap Circuits Classic is one of the largest and most comprehensive kits of its kind, boasting over 60 components and 300 projects. 

Like the other kits, each project builds upon the other, becoming more complex and advanced as you work through the manual. The projects come with objectives, like “To show how resistor values change the frequency of an oscillator” —which may sound intimidating to a beginner, but the colorful user-friendly instructions and diagrams make learning these principles fun and engaging.  

For example, one circuit, which teaches “how capacitors in parallel change the frequency of an oscillator”, has the project name “Electronic Cicada” and shows users how to build a circuit that creates the sound of the Cicada insect. 

This unique, playful approach to teaching complicated circuits makes this kit accessible to those with little to no knowledge of electronics. After completing just half of the projects, users will become familiar enough with circuitry and electronic principles to start generating their own circuits. 

4. Snap Circuits® Arcade Electronics Kit - SCA-200

Snap Circuits Arcade Manual (Printed)

Snap Circuits Arcade is a fantastic kit for those who’ve just completed the Snap Circuits Jr or Snap Circuits Classic kit. However, the kit and manuals come with the same descriptions of components and electronic principles and user-friendly tutorials, so even the beginner can start building projects with ease. 

The kit includes unique components like a disco ball and disco motor. With project names like “Home Run Derby Game” and “Lucky Doubles”, the kit walks through a variety of circuits inspired by the sounds and sights of the arcade. 

The “Fast Phrase Changer” is a particular favorite and involves a programmable fan that displays various phrases through special spinning and lighting effects.

Conclusion

Snap Circuits are among the most accessible and creative electronic kits on the market. Their safety features and unique construction make it possible for even those as young as 8 to start exploring the world of circuitry. 

You can find Snap Circuits at Circuit Specialists, or browse our other electronic kits and robotics kits if you’re ready for the next challenge!