Review by Alan:

I was skeptical about something like this at first. I wouldn’t have even thought about getting one until we had a very large bill for utilities last month. I decided that since the meter was less than what was wasted in electricity last month, it was probably worth it. And it was. Our utility company doesn’t print the cost per kwh on the bill so I got an education on just how high our electricity rates were compared to surrounding areas. After getting that initial kwh cost, setup was easy. I only needed a flat and a phillips screwdriver and I was done.

I was really surprised when someone in my home who always leaves the tv on and the lights on when they leave the room was walking around and seeing how much the meter changed when they turned things on and off. The education that electricity does cost money was worth it. If you’re trying to save the planet with this, then save your money and just shut everything off. If you’re trying to live life and save money for your family, this is a great buy.

Review by Amanda Richards:

This one may be tossed – tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar

That tomorrow, it’ll be gone

Just thinking about, tomorrow

Clears my brain from cobwebs and much sorrow

It’s no fun

When I’m stuck with a toy that’s lame and boring

I just stick out my chin and grin and say, ooooh

This kit will be tossed, tomorrow

So I gotta hang on `til tomorrow

For trash day

Tomorrow, tomorrow

I love you, tomorrow

You’re only a day away

Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration there, but really, this toy can’t hold a candle to the Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 Educational kit by the same company.

For starters, this one requires a screwdriver and spanner to set up, and it’s extremely unlikely that a typical eight year old will be able to do the (few) projects without adult help. The instruction manual begins with line drawings and schematics for connecting circuits in series and in parallel, and continues with the calculation and formulation for such things as “how many rows of solar cells are needed to make a solar panel work for a solar musical unit of 4.5V 100mA”

After they make your head spin (without the help of a solar panel), when you get to page 10, they helpfully add “If you do not want to make any calculation, just skip and follow the simple instructions below”, which is followed by a series of black and white illustrations with captions like “No.2 screw connected to No.4 screw with jumper wire”

After you get all this done, you need to ensure that the panel is in direct sunlight. You can apparently use a 100W bulb 5 inches away from the panel, but only for 3 minutes, as the heat may melt the plastic frame. (!)

We connected the panel to the motor and fan today, and put the panel on a sunny window sill. I’d like to say we were blown away, but as the kit includes no form of storage for the charge, every time a cloud passed over the sun we were out of the flying fan and into the fiery heat of the day.

You can also connect small appliances depending on the required voltage and amperage (up to 4.5V or up to 300mA), but without a battery and charge controller it won’t be very effective.

While this kit has the right idea at heart, they need to work on the presentation (looks cheap), the ease of set up for the target audience (from 8 years old), the instruction manual, and above all, they need to offer a complete solar set-up that can actually make the projects work effectively.

This one is not likely to be a favorite for anyone of any age

Amanda Richards, January 1, 2009

Review by Xilipden:

I bought this solar educational kit for my son 4th grade school science project. After reading the reviews from the others, I was skeptical about the product. Since this is the only solar educational kit on Amazon and the price is reasonable right, we decided to buy it. We received the product in two days. The instruction is straight forward and easy that my son can do it by himself without my help. We also bought the spot flash light for about from Home Depot to use it as a sunlight for indoor. This worked really well for the fan, but for the light bulb you need to use the sun light as well. Overall, this product is good for young kid science school project. My son really enjoyed it.