REBLOGGING FROM LAST YEAR: Reader Dave Crawford writes: “The Snap Circuits EC-500 set was a big hit with my 9 year old daughter. She just finished the FM radio project – with Christmas music now coming out of the speaker on the dining room table. Thanks for the recommendation – hopefully through all the machinations of jumping from instapundit to Amazon, you wound up getting the $0.02 or whatever.” Glad to be of service.

And a reader emails: “For older kids that enjoy electronics and want to move into more difficult (but equally fun) areas where software and electronics come together, may I recommend the Arduino microcontroller system. Absolutely not for beginners, but a great set of gifts for the budding robotics geek. No soldering necessary, but persistence is. My teenage son is hooked.”