The Electro Lab provides children with an opportunity to not only learn about electronics but to put their knowledge into action!
The set is aimed at ages 7 to 12, which coincides with what the Montessori method calls the 'second plane of development'. In the second plane of development the child demonstrates an incredible capacity for imagination - the process of inventing concepts that are not physically present and of contemplating experiences that have not been personally experienced. What a perfect time to introduce the concept of electronics! The concept of electronics requires enormous imagination - to comprehend an 'unseen' force which has such power in our life, and to think about the ways that different discrete elements can interconnect to create an entirely new response or outcome.
The Electro Lab consists of a set of individual pieces including switches, speakers, battery packs and lights (all colour-coded and carefully explained in the instruction booklet). These can be arranged in various formations on the circuit board to create different connections and contraptions. The Electro Lab set features the parts and directions for more than 80 different electronic experiments.
The set includes a set of really clear, child-friendly instructions. These are provided in a full colour, A5 size booklet - not just a black and white flimsy folded piece of paper!
Too often I've been disappointed when opening new activity sets (either in my pre-school classroom or when working with my 12 year old niece) because they contain just a single piece of paper with tiny, impossible to decipher instructions! Instructions like that are hard to read in the first place and inevitably get lost pretty quickly as they just look like a random piece of paper. The Electro Lab instruction booklet is clear, attractive and will definitely not be mistaken for rubbish! It will empower a child to engage in independent activity by following the clear illustrated diagrams and accompanying written instructions.
The Electro Lab supports children with a variety of different 'learning styles'. The fact that the experiment booklet includes both diagrams and words means that visual/spatial learners can rely more on the images, while verbal/linguistic learners will read through the written instructions. Social/intrapersonal learners will benefit from the fact that multiple children can work together as an engineering team to create the connections. Logical/mathematical learners will enjoy problem-solving to try to design their own pathways.
For the sanity of parents and teachers - please be aware that some of the experiments involve making sound effects! These are likely to be favourites for the children, but might not be quite as much fun for the adults. So it might be worth ensuring that your child has a work space in the home or classroom where adult supervision is possible but the noise level won't be too distracting for other individuals in the vicinity.