LittleBits strives to ensure the kids of today are empowered with the skills and confidence to becomes the chief change-makers and problem-solvers of the future, they aim to achieve this by getting them excited and interested about inventing from a young age. LittleBits is a New York based education start-up that invented the electronic building blocks that snap together and are aimed at everyone no matter their age, gender, race, nationality, or ability, they even claim that up to 40 percent of the kids using LittleBits kits are girls, which is four times the industry average. The key to encouraging a child to get involved with anything worthwhile is to make it fun, in fact playtime IS learning even if it looks like a cross between a wrestling match and a screaming contest. The LittleBits kits provide a little more lowkey play but allow the kids to enjoy making a range of noises (you may not enjoy this so much), the Synth Kit is suitable for ages 14 and over and comes with a delay, envelope, filter, keyboard, micro sequencer, mix, oscillator, LittleBits-power, random, split and synth-speaker.

All these pieces snap together with magnets that can be built into a circuit in seconds and are ready to use straight out of the box and teach the basics of analog synthesis. The kit comes with a project booklet with step-by-step instructions for creating a wide array of sound circuits and projects whilst the box can be transformed into a ready-to-use performance station that can connect to recording or live sound equipment. The Synth kit can be used as a stand-alone kit combined with any of the other LittleBits modules and has been developed in partnership with KORGx, a pioneer of electronic musical equipment, that enables both amateur and professional musicians to easily discover the synthesizer instrument. The project booklet comes with 10 set-ups to get you started, there are loads more online and there is also the option of creating your own ideas away from the instructions. The LittleBits Synth kit is entertaining as well as educational, if you know a youngster who is into their music (or just making noise) and likes building or has a creative streak this could be an ideal gift. RRP £139.99

Current Cheapest Price

4 out of 5

Pros

Easy to assemble

Educational

Developed in partnership with KORG

Infinitely customisable

12 electronic Bits included

Compatible with other LittleBits kits

Cons

Quite delicate components