Review – Thames & Kosmos Electricity & Magnetism Kit

Thames & Kosmos’ Electricity & Magnetism set is a hands-on STEM lesson for kids. It teaches circuits, electromagnetism, and more. Let’s check it out!

Review

My 6-year-old loves science, and I am always trying to nurture that curiosity in her. When she was younger, she loved playing with the Thames & Kosmos Number Balance and Roller Coaster Engineer sets, and more recently, she has had fun with the Coding & Robotics kit. When I saw the Electricity & Magnetism set, I thought it would be another one she might enjoy.

This set contains dozens of experiments, where kids build working circuits and learn about magnets and electromagnetism. Like any good science kit, the lessons start at the very beginning. In this case, that means building the most basic of circuits — two wires, a light bulb, and a battery pack. (All the electricity experiments run on a pair of AA batteries.)

From there, kids are challenged to wire up multiple bulbs, use switches, build parallel circuits, and more. As I was working through these lessons with my daughter (and my 3-year-old son, who was interested in the colorful lights), we talked about the what/where/why behind the experiments. I asked them questions like:

• “Where is the current flowing? Can you trace its path with your finger?”
• “What would happen if you disconnect a wire?”
• “When multiple bulbs are on the same circuit, why are they dimmer?”
• “Could we use a spoon as part of our circuit? What about a piece of paper? A piece of tinfoil? A wrench?”

In order to drive home the information they were learning, I also showed them circuits around our house, including regular and three-way setups.

The second part of the book focuses on magnetism, with experiments that teach attraction, repulsion, polarity, and more. The intro lessons are really just about playing with magnets — the kit comes with a handful of screws, washers, etc., and my kids had fun just grabbing them with the magnets and making the magnets attract and repel each other.

The kit also includes a plastic case containing iron powder, and my kids loved making it dance with a magnet. Once they understood the magnetic property of iron, we again walked through the house, this time with magnets in hand, looking for other things that were made of iron.

The last section of the book puts everything together, teaching about electromagnetism. (Admittedly, I learned a thing or two myself.) Our favorite experiment was building an electromagnet which could be turned on and off with the push of a button. These final experiments feel like the culmination of all the earlier lessons, and doing them will make kids feel super smart.

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Of all the STEM toys my children have played with, this one has been the biggest hit. It does a great job teaching core concepts incrementally, and it provides many opportunities for discussion about how these principles show up in everyday life. By the time kids have worked through all the experiments, they will have a genuine understanding of how electricity and magnetism work, and how they are connected.

The production of this kit is quite nice. The components are mostly plastic, but they feel well made, and they are designed to be intuitive for kids. In particular, the green “building block” components are easy for a child to understand — they go together like LEGOs, and they are much more organized than a tangle of wires. What’s more, having them laid out in a neat configuration means a kid can easily run their finger along the circuit, following where the current is flowing.

The only production issue we noticed had to do with the small, cylindrical magnets. They are colored red and blue to indicate polarity, but the colored coating started chipping off very quickly. Within a half-hour of normal use, the magnets looked much worse for wear. This doesn’t compromise the usability, of course, but it looks a little unsightly.

Overall, though, I’m very pleased with this product, and I recommend it for grade-schoolers who are exploring STEM. It introduces electricity and magnetism in an engaging way, and it comes with components kids can use to make their own creations. If you have little ones who are showing an interest in science, check this one out. It will provide lots of education and entertainment.

A review copy was provided by Thames & Kosmos.