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littleBits Review and Giveaway {closed}

This is a view of the littleBits Premium kit with the 2 trays of parts and activity booklet.

LittleBits

The developers of littleBits say, “littleBits are the easiest way to get started with electronics.” When the littleBits Premium Kit came in the mail, my girls were very curious to find out what was inside. My 7-year-old is totally hooked on Legos right now and so when I explained them to her, she was really excited! littleBits are tiny circuit-boards that snap together with magnets. They call the circuit-boards modules, and they each have a specific function that is printed on the top of the module. The reusable case and trays inside are very sturdy, and it makes it easy for children to transport them around the house or to take in the car. The Premium Kit contains:

      • Battery and Cable
      • Power
      • Slide Dimmer
      • Pressure Sensor
      • Roller Switch
      • Sound Trigger
      • Pulse
      • Vibration Motor
      • Servo
      • Long LED x2
      • Fan
      • Branch, Wire x2
      • Screwdriver
      • Servo Motor Accessories
      • VibeSnap (Vibration Motor accessory)
      • Activity Booklet

The really cool thing about this product is that there is no soldering, no wiring, no programming–just snap them together and create! We started out by reading through “the basics” section of the instructions so that my 7-year-old would have an understanding of all the parts. Then we started trying out a series of basic circuits just to get an idea of what the parts could do and how they worked together. Right from the start we all knew this was a really cool toy because kids can play with light, sound, sensing, and buttons in endless combinations! The activity booklet contains the following ideas: Hypnotizing Wheel, Cooling Campfire, Funny Face, Auto Greeter, Truck Crane, Drawer Alarm, Playful Pet, Box Monster, Bristle Bot, Bubble Flute, Animal Friend, and the Piggy Bank.

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After playing around for a while, my daughter wanted to do the funny face project from the activity booklet with her dad. The finished activity was a smiling character with glowing eyes and a vibrating tongue. He was activated by touching the pressure sensor they put on the back of his ear.

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Back and front view of the project. We used painters tape to hold everything together while protecting the modules from damage.

Our daughter has enjoyed playing with the littleBits during her quiet time and trying all sorts of circuit combinations. She has spent a lot of time telling me about the things she has created and all the things she wants to try, including working the circuits into her Lego creations. I asked her if she thought it was a good toy, and she said “Yes!” and that she thinks any kid would like to play with this and that they could have a lot of fun. She told me that the best thing about them is that they stick together with magnets so it’s easy to play with and move around. We decided to make a littleBits video review of her demonstrating the toy and what she thinks of how they work. From a parent’s perspective this product is great for fun, but also for learning. Since it’s an open source circuit system, with no soldering gun or wiring to figure out, and with magnets to prevent you from connecting them improperly, the kids are free to try any combination of modules with no fear. The other ideas in the activity book use things you can easily find around your house, and one idea leads to another–which is great for their creativity. If you go to the littleBits site, they show many more ideas that their team has created and ideas uploaded by other users. I also like that the power source is a 9V battery so there won’t be any special batteries to hunt down in the future. I think this toy would appeal to kids even if they aren’t usually into science type toys. I don’t see this as a toy that a child will play with every day for hours on end, but I do think it’s a toy they will return to often. My husband says that this takes what adult hobbyists have been doing for years with soldering guns, wires and components and brings it down to a child’s level. There were only a couple of negative things I found with the littleBits. The first was that the two wires connected to the little fan motor broke in less than a day of play. This surprised me because my 7-year-old girl is extremely careful with her toys, especially with toys like this. One wire broke loose while my daughter was using it and the other broke when my husband was looking at it to see why the fan no longer worked. He has a soldering gun so that he can reattach them, but it was a disappointment to our daughter who wanted to make things using the fan. The other negative was that the modules often separate inadvertently. The magnets, which make them easy to connect, unfortunately also make it easy to separate. This was mildly frustrating a few times. If the magnets were stronger or if there were a clip to secure them in place, that problem would be solved. The littleBits Premium Kit is an expensive toy ($149.99), and that does seem high for the amount of things you are getting, but because of the broad age appeal it may not be quite as bad as it seems at first impression. The age range of the kit is much higher than most toys and activities and will grow with your kids as they create more and more elaborate items. The suggested age is “8 to ∞”, but unlike most “8 and up” toys which generally only appeal to kids within a few years of the starting age, I think the littleBits kit would be of interest to any age child or adult who likes to tinker and build.  And if we were honest and added up the amount of money spent on smaller toys over time, this could be a better long term toy investment. In summary, I think it’s a very interesting and different toy for children, and I have never seen anything like it before! I think the best part is that you can give the kids a basic explanation and let them get right to experimenting with it. It’s also something that will grow with the child and allow him or her to create all kinds of fun items.

Buy it:

You can purchase the Littlebits basic kit for $99.00, premium kit for $149.00, or the deluxe kit for $199.00. Edmund is graciously offering HHM readers an exclusive gift of FREE SHIPPING on your Little Bits purchase using the promotional code HHMSEE. Only one promotional code may be used with each order. Offer good through 11/9/2013. These promotions cannot be combined with any other offers. littlebits free shipping

Win it:

One lucky reader will receive one Littlebits kit from Edmund Scientifics. Enter below. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: One HHM team member received the Littlebits kit to review in exchange for an honest review.

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106 Comments

  1. This looks like a great toy to get my kids into electronics and building. Since those are not things that come naturally to me, maybe this would help me get started. 🙂

  2. We also have a couple SnapCircuits sets, our ds has anyway. He studied electricity a few years ago in Sonlight Science. Other than that, I don’t think we have as yet. This looks like a good set, and I like that your daughter has used it and enjoyed it. I think my 8yo would enjoy it too.

    Thanks!
    KelloyH

  3. LittleBits would be a huge hit in our home of 2 boys, 9 & 10. A second SnapCircuits set is on 9 yo’s Christmas wish list right now! I’d love to give him this instead!

    1. Stephanie, I’ll check into it right now! Do you have the littleBits in your cart? I know they said that the free shipping would only kick in with this item in your cart? Email me at [email protected] and I’ll get this worked out today. Thank you for letting us know!

  4. My kids would love this! My kids are 10,7, and 4. They love snap circuits, so this would really bring smiles at Christmas!

  5. My four children would love LittleBits. It would be just as enjoyable for my 13 year old as it would be for my 2 1/2 year old (with supervision, of course).

  6. My girls would love this kit! We use Snap Circuits at home but this would be fun since it can be used with other items!

  7. My children would love this set! We have explored electricity some; mostly with science projects and some small kits from Think Geek that they love. This set looks amazing and would really help take our learning even farther!

  8. We would love to win this! My son loves to take things apart and put them back together.So this would be great for him!!

  9. My 7 year old is currently taking a “young scientists” engineering class, and LOVES it. She also loves to play with Goldiblox (early engineering game for girls) and legos, and is always coming up with creations around the house. She would love this type of toy!

  10. Looks like a very cool toy. I’ve heard a little about these but hadn’t seen a review before. Neat way to introduce kids to circuits and electronics.

  11. My kids would LOVE this! We’ve tried other products, but they’re too difficult for our daughter to manipulate easily. Magnets would make it SO much easier!!!

  12. My brother-in-law (who is 9 and homeschooled) would LOVE this! He is a Lego enthusiast and loves taking things apart to learn about them!

  13. My four children ages 2, 4, 6 and 7 would have a blast with these! With 3 boys I am always looking for something constructive for them to do!

  14. I’m sure my boys would use this every day! I’m curious if the company responded to your post about the wires breaking? I’m considering purchasing Snap Circuits for Christmas. I may have to look into this product also.

  15. My son would love this. He loves building things and being able to build something and get it to work would be thrilling for him. this would be perfect for christmas

  16. I have never heard of Little Bits before, and they look amazing. We have never tried any hands-on electricity projects, but I will be looking into Little Bits more!

  17. My son would love to try this. Science and how things work are his favorite thing! We haven’t gotten into electricity yet, but will soon. This would be a great addition.

  18. These are great! When I was a kid, “Capsella” was a very similar set—and my brother and I *loved* it. This is the kind of toy that some students really take to, and it can be an invaluable addition to a classroom. Thank you for posting!

  19. My girls would enjoy these! We’ve not gotten into electronics in our home school yet, but I think they could still enjoy these.

  20. I think that my oldest would really like this! We are going to do a unit on electricity & magnets this year and this looks like it would fit in great with that.

  21. My son would love to explore this! We haven’t actually explored electricity yet. Mostly reactions and explosions (he’s a chemistry nut). But physics is next on our list, and I think this looks really fun.

  22. My kids love hands on science! We tried Snap Circuits at a children’s museum once and they loved it. This looks like a really fun kit!

  23. I think these are great. I’m an engineer that has been playing with electronics since about age 8. I have had many different types of sets over the years and these seem very intuitive and open ended. I now have three boys 2-7 and think I would have a lot of fun playing with them with kids.

  24. My nephew would absolutely love this! He’s being homeschooled by my sister, and he’s really into all things technology.

  25. This would be a great addition to our next science study! I just decided electricity is next! Would be a fun Christmas present too.

  26. OH wow this looks like so much fun! We have a snap circuits and it’s a hit with all the kids and their friends. My daughter has been asking for the little bits though!

  27. My son would love to use this! We haven’t used anything like this in our homeschool yet. I can see this being used very often!

  28. This would be great for my 8 yr old daughter. She’s very crafty and this would help her see “crafts” as something bigger.

  29. This is brilliant. I still remember those “50-1 kits” from Radio Shack when I was a kid. This looks like an awesome step up from those!

  30. We have never heard of these before. We have experimented a little with electricity but this seems a lot more interesting.

  31. My two boys would love this! They love building and inventing things, and this would take it to a new level! Thanks for the chance to win 🙂

  32. My son would LOVE this!! I’ve been looking at different options for a Christmas gift that would encourage his curiosity in this area. This would be PERFECT!!

  33. My kids would LOVE this!! We’ve done a few experiments with making a battery out of lemons and other items. Pretty fun stuff!!

  34. My daughter has something like this on her Christmas list! (Her whole list is Science related) Thanks for the chance to win! She would Absolutely light up when she opened it!

  35. My kids love exploring electricity. We currently have a snap circuits jr. set that my son and oldest daughter love exploring with and creating all sorts of combinations with. We would love to add this set to our homeschool science curriculum.

  36. Eeeek ! I want one…I mean my kiddos would love it! Although I would totally enjoy exploring the possibilities with them 🙂

  37. My son would love this kit. We have learned a little about electricity, but haven’t done many hands on activities.

  38. My almost 4 year old would love this! He loves working on projects with daddy and this would be right up their alley! We do lots of battery replacing, but have not done much electricity work, yet!

  39. We have watched SchoolHouse Rock video several times about electricity and it made my little 4 year old daughter very curious. And she loves science asks for lessons every day! she would love this!

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