Single review
Squishy Circuits Review
Reviewed from the maker's published contents. We have not used it, and where the maker publishes nothing — the age rating, the battery type — we say so.
By Sawyer V. · Published
The short answer
Squishy Circuits is worth it as a hands-on first circuit kit. The maker publishes three conductive doughs, one insulating dough, 25 LEDs in five colors, a battery holder and a buzzer. Its product page publishes no age rating and no battery type, so check the listing before buying for a young child.
Block & Beaker earns a commission when you buy through our links, at no cost to you. It never changes a ranking, and we say so plainly when the right answer is the cheaper set, or nothing at all. Full disclosure · How we pick.
At a glance
The picks, ranked
Tap any row to jump to the full reasoning. Prices come live from Amazon where we have them and read “check price” where we don’t — never a number we cannot stand behind today.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The product Squishy Circuits Standard Kit Two doughs — one that conducts, one that insulates — and 25 LEDs to press into them. | A child who learns with their hands | |
| 2 | The guided rival Snap Circuits Beginner 21 numbered projects from 14 snap-together parts, rated 5-8. | Five to eight | |
| 3 | The drawing alternative Circuit Scribe Basic Kit A conductive ink pen and six magnetic modules — a circuit you draw. | Eight and up, for a child who draws | |
| — | Not a circuit kit NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Mega Slime Kit & Putty Lab Sits near dough kits on the shelf, and its published contents include no circuit at all. | Sensory play |
4 picks, including 1 we tell you to skip. Ages shown are the manufacturer’s own rating, not ours.
What we can tell you, and what we cannot
We have not used it. No lab, no samples, no test children, and no star rating on this page or in its structured data.
What the maker publishes — the doughs, the LEDs, the buzzer, the battery holder — we can report. What it does not publish, we leave blank rather than borrow from a retailer: that includes the age rating and the battery type.
The specification that decides it
The arithmetic
Squishy Circuits Standard Kit, published
| Conductive dough | 3 containers, 3.5 oz each — red, green, blue |
|---|---|
| Insulating dough | 1 container, 3.5 oz, white |
| LEDs | 25 — 5 each of red, green, white, yellow, blue |
| Also included | 1 battery holder, 1 piezoelectric buzzer |
| Stated age | Not published on the maker's product page |
| Battery requirement | Not published on the maker's product page |
What the numbers mean in practice
Insulation you can hold. Most first kits teach that some materials conduct. Squishy Circuits is unusual in giving the child a material that does not, in the same form — so the lesson is a lump of white dough placed between two colored ones.
No diagram required. The circuit is whatever shape the child makes. That suits a child who learns by touching and would stall on a numbered manual.
Light and sound. Twenty-five LEDs and a piezoelectric buzzer give two kinds of result, which keeps early experiments varied.
No published project count. Unlike Snap Circuits, there is no numbered ladder in the published contents. The ideas come from the child — or from an adult sitting alongside.
Who should skip it
A buyer who needs a published age rating. The maker’s product page does not give one.
A child who likes step-by-step projects. Snap Circuits publishes them; this does not.
A child who would rather draw than sculpt. Circuit Scribe teaches the same idea with a pen.
Say the unwelcome thing
Do not buy it for a toddler on the strength of the dough
It looks like play dough, and the LEDs are small parts. With no age rating published on the maker’s product page, treat it as you would any kit with small components and keep it from a child who still puts things in their mouth.
Where it sits
Squishy Circuits is compared directly in Squishy Circuits vs Snap Circuits and appears in circuit kits for kids and STEM gifts for kids who love art.
In full
Every pick, and what is wrong with it
Published specifications only, each linked back to the page it came from. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says so — we do not fill blanks in.
1. The product
Squishy Circuits Standard Kit
Squishy Circuits · Standard Kit · maker rates it Not published on the maker's product page
Two doughs — one that conducts, one that insulates — and 25 LEDs to press into them.
- Conductive dough
- 3 containers, 3.5 oz each — red, green and blue
- Insulating dough
- 1 container, 3.5 oz, white
- LEDs
- 25 — 5 each of red, green, white, yellow and blue
- Also included
- 1 battery holder and 1 piezoelectric buzzer
Squishy Circuits publishes three 3.5 oz containers of conductive dough in red, green and blue, one 3.5 oz container of white insulating dough, 25 LEDs — five each of red, green, white, yellow and blue — one battery holder and one piezoelectric buzzer. Its product page publishes no stated age and no battery requirement.
Two doughs is the whole design. One carries current and one blocks it, so a working circuit is built by shaping clay rather than by following a diagram, and insulation becomes something a child can hold.
Twenty-five LEDs in five colors is enough for circuits with several branches, and the buzzer adds a second kind of result: sound as well as light.
Replay signal
- Open-ended or one-shot
- Open-ended — the dough is shaped into whatever circuit the child imagines
- Room to grow
- Twenty-five LEDs in five colors is enough for circuits with several branches
Why we say so: Squishy Circuits publishes two doughs — three containers that conduct and one that insulates — plus 25 LEDs and a buzzer. Two doughs is the whole design: one carries current and one blocks it, so a working circuit is built by shaping clay rather than by following a diagram.
What’s wrong with it
No age rating and no battery type on the maker's own product page.
| Conductive dough | 3 containers, 3.5 oz each — red, green and blue |
|---|---|
| Insulating dough | 1 container, 3.5 oz, white |
| LEDs | 25 — 5 each of red, green, white, yellow and blue |
| Also included | 1 battery holder and 1 piezoelectric buzzer |
| Stated age | Not published on the maker's product page |
| Battery requirement | Not published on the maker's product page |
Every figure above is from Squishy Circuits, Standard Kit. Blanks are shown as “not published” rather than filled in.
2. The guided rival
Snap Circuits Beginner
Elenco · SCB-20 · maker rates it 5-8
21 numbered projects from 14 snap-together parts, rated 5-8.
- Projects
- 21
- Parts
- 14
- Projects per part
- 1.5
- Stated age
- Ages 5-8
Elenco publishes Snap Circuits Beginner at 21 projects from 14 parts, rated ages 5-8, with no tools needed.
It publishes the age rating and project count Squishy Circuits does not. If a numbered start and a clear age are what matter, this is the safer choice.
Replay signal
- Open-ended or one-shot
- Limited. 14 parts is a small vocabulary, and once the 21 projects are built the set goes quiet
- Does anything run out
- Nothing runs out
- Room to grow
- Parts work with the bigger sets, so it is not a dead end — but it is a short road
Why we say so: Elenco publishes 21 projects from 14 parts. That ratio is the whole story: this is the entry rung, and the number to hold it against is the 305 projects the Classic set publishes from 60+ parts.
What’s wrong with it
1.5 projects per part, and a short ladder.
| Projects | 21 |
|---|---|
| Parts | 14 |
| Projects per part | 1.5 |
| Stated age | Ages 5-8 |
| Tools needed | None — parts snap together |
| Consumables | None |
Every figure above is from Elenco, Snap Circuits Beginner. Blanks are shown as “not published” rather than filled in.
3. The drawing alternative
Circuit Scribe Basic Kit
Circuit Scribe · Basic Kit · maker rates it 8+
A conductive ink pen and six magnetic modules — a circuit you draw.
- Modules
- 6 — a 9V battery adapter with 9V battery, 2 LEDs, a switch, a blinker and a dimmer
- Pen
- Conductive ink pen — draws working circuits on paper
- Also included
- Circuit stencil, jumper sticker sheet, steel canvas
- Projects
- Inventor's Notebook with 8 pages of circuit drawing projects
Circuit Scribe publishes a conductive ink pen, six modules including a blinker and a dimmer, a stencil, a steel canvas and an 8-page Inventor’s Notebook, rated 8 and up.
The same idea through a different material: a child who prefers pencils to clay gets the same first lesson from a pen.
Replay signal
- Open-ended or one-shot
- Open-ended once the notebook is done — any drawing can become a circuit
- Does anything run out
- The ink runs out; the six modules and the steel canvas do not
- Room to grow
- A Basic Kit Plus publishes a 27-page workbook covering series, parallel and short circuits
Why we say so: Circuit Scribe publishes six magnetic modules including a blinker and a dimmer, a conductive ink pen and a steel canvas, rated 8 and up. Drawing the wire is the specification that matters — the child sees the circuit as a line they made, which is closer to a real schematic than any snap-together format.
What’s wrong with it
The ink runs out; the modules do not.
| Modules | 6 — a 9V battery adapter with 9V battery, 2 LEDs, a switch, a blinker and a dimmer |
|---|---|
| Pen | Conductive ink pen — draws working circuits on paper |
| Also included | Circuit stencil, jumper sticker sheet, steel canvas |
| Projects | Inventor's Notebook with 8 pages of circuit drawing projects |
| Stated age | 8 and up |
| Consumables | The pen's ink is used up; modules and canvas are reusable |
Every figure above is from Circuit Scribe, Basic Kit. Blanks are shown as “not published” rather than filled in.
Skip this one
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Mega Slime Kit & Putty Lab
National Geographic · NGMEGASPL · maker rates it 8+
Sits near dough kits on the shelf, and its published contents include no circuit at all.
- Varieties
- 8 in total — 7 premade plus 1 DIY slime lab
- Premade types
- Magnetic putty, fluffy slime, glow-in-the-dark putty, liquid slime, color-changing putty, snotty slime, bouncing putty
- DIY portion
- One glow-in-the-dark slime lab with a stir stick
- Storage
- 8 tins
National Geographic publishes eight varieties — seven premade putties and slimes plus one DIY glow-in-the-dark slime lab — in 8 tins, rated 8 and up.
A buyer looking for “science dough” can end up here. It is a putty collection; Squishy Circuits is the one that lights up.
Replay signal
- Open-ended or one-shot
- The seven premade putties are reusable toys rather than one-shot experiments
- Does anything run out
- Only the DIY lab runs out
- Room to grow
- Magnetic and color-changing putty demonstrate real properties, not just texture
- Adult required
- Not for the premade putties; briefly for the DIY mix
Why we say so: National Geographic publishes seven premade varieties plus one DIY lab. That ratio is the review: most of this kit is a reusable sensory toy with a science label, and one eighth of it is the experiment.
What’s wrong with it
Seven premade putties and one DIY lab — no LEDs, no battery holder.
| Varieties | 8 in total — 7 premade plus 1 DIY slime lab |
|---|---|
| Premade types | Magnetic putty, fluffy slime, glow-in-the-dark putty, liquid slime, color-changing putty, snotty slime, bouncing putty |
| DIY portion | One glow-in-the-dark slime lab with a stir stick |
| Storage | 8 tins |
| Includes | Full-color learning guide |
| Stated age | 8 and up |
| Consumables | Partly — the DIY ingredients are used once; the putties are reusable |
Every figure above is from National Geographic toys, Mega Slime Kit & Putty Lab. Blanks are shown as “not published” rather than filled in.
We are not putting a buy button on this one. It is easy enough to find if you want it anyway — but we would rather send you to something that gets played with twice.
Questions people actually ask
Frequently asked
Is Squishy Circuits worth it?
As a hands-on first circuit kit, yes. The maker publishes three conductive doughs, one insulating dough, 25 LEDs in five colors, a battery holder and a buzzer. Check the retail listing for an age rating, because the maker's product page does not publish one.
What comes in the Squishy Circuits Standard Kit?
Three 3.5 oz containers of conductive dough (red, green and blue), one 3.5 oz container of white insulating dough, 25 LEDs in five colors, one battery holder and one piezoelectric buzzer.
What age is Squishy Circuits for?
The maker's product page does not publish an age rating, and we do not borrow a retailer's figure. Treat the LEDs as small parts and keep the kit from children who still mouth things.
Squishy Circuits or Snap Circuits?
Squishy Circuits for a child who learns with their hands and wants no diagram; Snap Circuits for a child who likes numbered projects. Elenco publishes Snap Circuits Classic at 305 projects from 60+ parts, rated 8+. Squishy Circuits vs Snap Circuits.
Sources
Where these figures came from
Every specification on this page traces to one of these. If a manufacturer publishes nothing on a point, the page says so rather than filling the gap.
Read next
Where to go from here
Back to Reviews, or read how we pick.