We can all agree that STEAM, the education of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, is super important for our children to learn this day and age. Technology is the future and where most of the new jobs are created. I enjoy toys and activities that facilitate the learning of how technology works and opens the world to new ideas and thought processes.
Electroninks, makers of Circuit Scribes allows you to draw circuits on paper with a conductive ink pen and place their magnetic modular electronics components onto your circuit to get a working circuit. Forgoing the need to solder, and allowing younger children to get a headstart on electronics and circuits. Soldering is a handy skill to learn, but it is good to separate it from learning about electronics. Not all kids who are interested in electronics will be ready to solder.
The recommended age for Circuit Scribe is eight years and above. Our former intern, Nadya, noticed the materials provided in the various Circuit Scribe kits does not captivate younger children. And so she painstaking created a booklet to solve this issue, and I will be talking about the Circuit Scribe Bunny booklet here.
Disclosure: Get Hacking is a distributor for Circuit Scribe, and I am a full-time staff working for them, so take what you will.
If you have not read our previous review on Circuit Scribe mini kit, click here to check it out. For this review, we will be specifically be using the Mini Kit but with Circuit Scribe's Flagship conductive pen. Let's get to it!
The Circuit Scribe Bunny booklet contains 12 pages of instructions and step-by-step projects, to draw and experiment with creating circuits. After an introduction to drawing and basic shapes, the booklet introduces us to the first character, Bunny. We are guided through a step by step method in identifying basic shapes and drawing a simple circuit before moving on to more complex lessons.
Other lessons include:
- LEDs
- Single switch
- Switches in series
- Blinker
The first activity, filling the gaps with the conductive ink or colouring in the conductive ink and placing the LED modules in the right direction to achieve the desired light colours. Sounds easy right? I thought so too. 
After spending about 5 minutes into colouring in the conductive ink, I placed the LED and power modules on to test on my circuit. To my dismay, the LEDs did not light up. I went through the standard pen maintenance tips and checked of batteries, nothing worked. My trusty multimeter came in handy (a lifesaver when doing any circuit work).
My initial circuit was pretty broken, lots of non-conductive ink patches. I remedied that by swapping out to a new page and colouring the ink more meticulously, checking my circuit every so often. Dare I suggest, use a new pen, unlike mine which has been left neglected for too long.
The lessons are children friendly, well written, and the accompanying pictures are easy to complete, and there's no question about where which module goes and what direction. Each module also has colour coded feet: red for input, grey for connection, yellow for output, and finally blue for power. The resistors fit nicely into the appropriate sockets, the battery is easy to connect, and the switches are straightforward as well. Once you've completed the lessons, you can start experimenting and doodling on blank pages and create your own circuits.
If you've always wanted to teach your kids about circuits, Circuit Scribe is easy to use, easy to understand, and works well for this purpose.