Electrical Engineering Gift Ideas

My better half teaches 4th grade, and has 10-11 year olds in class. Although they are a little younger than your grandson at age 12, I asked her for ideas. She said when she teaches the science portion of the day she has found a number of science and engineering items from "Smart Lab First," and she said they have electronic kits for kids. She said amazon.com carries some of the Smart Lab First stuff. She said also look at sciencekits.com

Matt

thanks, I'll check it out

Try Ramsey Electronics

www.ramseyelectronics.com

Edmond Scientific is one of the few remaining vendors from the era when I was growing up. Check their catalog.

I encourage you to speak to a science teacher at his school and see what kind of kit would dovetail with your grandson's course of study. Or, if you live too far from him to make that practical, speak to a teacher who is local. The contents of science courses do not vary that much across the Country.

I think what you are doing is great!

L.J.

If you do live to far away to talk personally to the teacher, ask his parents for the schools website and/or the teachers email address.

All my kids teachers have email so we parents can keep an eye on our kids grades & etc.

All ideas given by others are good. I add one more dimension:

Look for some kit from Magician, where electricity is used. This will educate your grandson that there is no real magic, but there is some science behind every magic.

I know it's in the wrong continent but for some ideas look here:-

http://www.mutr.co.uk/

Nearly all the items must be available in the US with a quick search.

He won't end up talking funny, will he?

You might go to radio shack and get an inexpensive voltmeter as well. But then you have to teach him how to not get shocked with AC current....

It may be thought of as nit picking, but I define electricity and electronics seperately, although they meet in many areas of course.

Both styles of kits can be interesting for a young person, maybe both should be offered?

In the 50's my Father put together an Electricity kit for me at age of 7 or 8. This stimulated my interest in both areas so much that I built my first radio control system from kits (single channel, valves/tubes in both Rx and Tx!! No transistors!) in 1957 at age 11....I had a HUGE solder gun from my Father!!!

Worked great!!

I used the transmitter for many years, but with transistor receivers in the late 50's and early 60's, as part of an early analog proportional system (Flight Link)......Mat 100 and Mat 101 transistors, that only 50% worked at 27 Mhz!!! You had to sort the good ones from the bad!!!!

Those were the days.....

My earliest kits were electrical - lights and buzzers and motors, then I started to get the electronic kits.

My favorite kit was a monthly science subscription - every month they would send you something, a lens, a transistor, a motor, and over time you would make a telescope or a record player, or whatever.

http://www.nutsvolts.com/

Not electrical, but I just saw this system that a friend is getting his son. I wish I was a kid again...

rokenbok.