I started with an Erector Set, and then moved on to doing experiments with the electrolysis of water using my train transformer, and then playing with the sparks from a Model T ignition trembler coil.
And then downhill to being an engineer from there.

 

Meccano's strong legacy as one of the oldest construction systems in the world began in 1898, when Frank Hornby invented it in England.
In 1913, a similar construction set called Erector was introduced in the United States.
In 2000, these two merged, and began building together under one global brand name –Meccano.
Nice to see it is still going strong!

 

Meccano's strong legacy as one of the oldest construction systems in the world began in 1898, when Frank Hornby invented it in England.
In 1913, a similar construction set called Erector was introduced in the United States.
In 2000, these two merged, and began building together under one global brand name –Meccano.
Nice to see it is still going strong!

I still have mine.

 

The other thing we did was mud construction. We had plenty of that red Texas dirt and water to build cities that would built and destroyed over and over again until supper.

 

I did have one of those at an early age, eventually a massive set with pieces from garage sales.
But even before that, I was the one who took my toys apart, and then put them back together so that they worked. Almost anyone can disassemble stuff. Understanding how it goes back together, and WHY it goes that way, is the hard part.
Now that is how to diagnose the failure in any machine. Understand how it is supposed to work, then see how it IS working, and thus see what has changed. Of course, knowing which parts usually fail is also rather handy.

 

Meccano and Philips Electronic Engineer, two must have classics.

 

Snap circuits for my future engineer back in 2015.


https://shop.elenco.com/consumers/brands/snap-circuits.html

Today, she's studying electrostatics in her physics classes.

 

Nice reads. Thank you all for your inputs.

 

Mid-1950's: TinkerToys

Late 50's or early 60's: Erector Set

10 years later: uni courses in Statics and Dynamics

ak

 

In addition there is reading, and lots of it. Reading the descriptions of how circuits function, reading about the circuit design process. Reading application literature for devices such as transistors. Not viewing video presentations that very seldom provide adequate depth, and almost never move at the pace needed for developing understanding.