The Photographer's Wife Parenting, Disney, Travel, Reviews & Other Randomness
Today, I bring you a review of littleBits!
I had never heard of littleBits prior to being contacted, but they mentioned that even though littleBits is meant for kids 8 or older (and therefore Trent was too young for them), they still wanted to send one to see what I thought. When I read what exactly littleBits is, Trent wasn’t the child that came to mind…
Nope, Brett was the child that came to mind. This seemed right up Brett’s alley and he was excited to try it out.
From littleBits:
littleBits is an opensource library of electronic modules that snap together with tiny magnets for prototyping, learning, and fun.
littleBits consists of tiny circuit-boards with specific functions engineered to snap together with magnets. No soldering, no wiring, no programming, just snap together for prototyping, learning and fun. Each bit has a specific function (light, sound, sensors, buttons, thresholds, pulse, motors, etc), and modules snap to make larger circuits. Just as LEGOâ„¢ allows you to create complex structures with very little engineering knowledge, littleBits are small, simple, intuitive, blocks that make creating with sophisticated electronics a matter of snapping small magnets together.
Crave creativity? Make something! Light it, push it, turn it, twist it, bend it, buzz it, blink it, shake it…
With a growing number of available modules, littleBits aims to move electronics from late stages of the design process to its earliest ones, and from the hands of experts, to those of artists, makers, students and designers.
To see what you can make, check out the community.
The kits come with color-coded modules that snap together magnetically to create larger circuits, guaranteed to keep kids (or you) occupied for hours. The Kit includes everything you need to start making your own interactive creations: a 9V battery is included, as well as an instruction sheet with several project plans. And, if you ever stop playing, you can pack everything away in the snappy magnetic case.
A little background on Brett, he was immensely interested in electronics when he was younger. He was known for building some crazy things, like an incredible Halloween setup in the front yard with moving animatronics and everything. Why is he not a Disney Imagineer? I have no clue…it’s his calling. Plus, Momma wants free Disney park admission. Brett, get on that mmmkay?
I received the littleBits Starter Kit, which comes with a 9-volt battery and cable, in addition to the bits listed below.
The case has each bit separated into it’s own section.
I like how they are color-coded to help you learn how to piece them together in various ways.
I know that Brett absolutely can not wait for Trent to be old enough so they can build things together, but for now, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try out littleBits to see if it would be something Trent would like in a few years…and wouldn’t ya know? Brett found a way to to upgrade one of Trent’s toys!
He started with one of Trent’s toy transformer robots…
…then connected the bits the way he wanted and attached them to the robot using hot glue, so that they can be removed and used again for future projects.
Bits used: barograph, led, rgb led, vibration motor, power, pulse, wire and the battery.
We now have an awesome robot that vibrates and has blinking led lights!
Check it out in action in this short video!
I think littleBits is a great “toy” to get kids interested in technology. Sure, there are other more dirty ways of doing it, like taking apart old electronics (which is what Brett did way back in the day), but this is much safer, easier to use, perfect for beginners to start with and do more as they learn and comes in a nicer package that’s perfect for gift-giving. Plus, I’ve always been a fan of toys that promote learning in a fun way, so this is definitely something I could imagine even giving my nephew as a gift or Trent when he’s older.
I would recommend waiting until your child is old enough to really enjoy getting this type of toy and can make their own projects, either alone or perhaps with some help from you, because it is not a cheap toy to go unused. They also offer various discount codes (including the one below!) so be sure to take advantage of those.
littleBits currently has a contest running through August 30, 2025 to win $500 worth of littleBits just by joining their mailing list…which you can do here: littleBits.cc
Buy: littleBits.cc Amazon Discount: Use code photographerswife for $10 off through 9/15/13! Connect with littleBits: Facebook Twitter Youtube Pinterest instagramxoxo Lynn
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I was given this product in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.