We were excited to be sent a DIY Electro Dough Kit from Tech Will Save Us. Here’s the inside of the box:
The kit is marked for ages 4+, which I didn’t realise when I agreed to review it. I wasn’t sure S (who is 3) would “get” the idea of lighting up LEDs with play dough. Was I ever wrong!
This kit is like a science experiment you used to do at school – but so much more fun! At school I remember having a battery pack, two wires and an LED. This kit comes with all of that as well as a buzzer, cutters for your play dough and tons of extra wires for fun designs.
The idea is that you put the two “legs” of the LED into two separate pieces of dough, and then attach the wires from the battery to the dough.
S sat with my sister (the famous De Af) for ages, playing with different combinations of dough, LEDs and buzzer.
Whenever she got it right, and the buzzer buzzed or the LED lit up, she got really excited.
This is the most I’ve ever seen S concentrate on anything; she was really interested to see whether she could make the lights light.
She’s not quite grasped how to make sure it’s right first time – the difference between plus and minus, the long and short legs of an LED.
What’s great about this kit is that while it’s great fun for S at the age of 3, it will also be fun for her when she’s seven, eight or nine or even older. Her creations now are pretty standard, with two lumps of play dough and some wires – but as she grows and learns, she can build more intricate designs with her LEDs and buzzer.
I love the look on S’s face in these pictures: the concentration, but also the sheer delight when she sees that she has made an LED light, or that she can make a buzzer buzz. That’s not really something I recall feeling in science classes at school. I think it’s great to foster that sort of excitement in children – especially little girls who are not traditionally encouraged to enjoy science.
If she hadn’t already been given this, I would be buying it for S for Christmas.
Since we got this kit, whenever we have the play dough out, she wants the “play dough lights” out as well. She loves to play with the wires and lights.
I was provided with this kit for free in exchange for an honest review.
NOTE Since publishing this review, Tech Will Save Us have expanded their range considerably. The original Electro Dough kit is now available as Electro Dough Plus, which includes the set reviewed here, plus an additional kit. There are also several other Electro Dough kits available.
4 Comments
patrice M Foster · 01/10/2015 at 15:18
Play Dough has come a long way now Electric Dough Kits awesome. Amazing your doubts that at 3 yrs old your daughter may not be able to grasp the concept….She show you different its fun. Maybe it is the lights!
Vicky Charles · 04/10/2015 at 20:26
Thanks Patrice – it’s way more fun than the things I had as a child! I think S loves to be able to make the LEDs light up!
Yet Another Blogging Mummy!!! · 03/10/2015 at 14:57
wow thats certainly different to the PlayDough I remember. I’ve never bought PlayDough for my boys as I hate the smell of it, preferring to make my own homemade PlayDough for them instead #ArchiveDay
Vicky Charles · 04/10/2015 at 20:19
you can do it with home made dough too – the electricity is just conducted through the moisture in it. I used to make play dough for S but she was given loads for Christmas and her last birthday so there’s no need for now – lucky me!