I am looking for a few inexpensive solder kits that can be used to help teach soldering to children in the age range of 12 to 18, something fun when they are finished. Different kits for different ages is o.k. I need 20 kits in total so expense is a little bit of a concern.

Any recommendations?

 

Jameco.com has hundreds of kits and offers quantity discounts. You can buy from them or use the ideas to roll your own.

The older children might enjoy the challenge of building an 8x8x8 LED cube, but it costs $150 and might discourage them because it's not a quick build and could require a lot of troubleshooting.

 

Thank you. I will take a look at Jameco.com. I have thought of making my own but was just looking for ideas to get things rolling quickly.

 

Projects using LEDs, 7-segment displays, counters, timers, etc would interesting for younger children. Older kids might enjoy the challenge of assembling and programming a 4x4 LED cube; but to be useful it needs to be 8x8.

You could make sound generators with a 555 timer.

 

Electronic Goldmine is also a good source:

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/departments.asp?dept=1059

Having taught others to solder in a similar way, I'll offer a few unsolicited tips. It's useful to get some junk boards, components and wire for beginners to practice on before attempting the kits. You can reduce frustration by inspecting and/or cleaning all kit boards and component leads of oxidation before assembly. Have supplemental flux, wick and a plunger style extractor on hand to fix problems.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and unsolicited tips. There are a lot of very interesting kits out there.

I expect the first time through to be a learning experience for both sides!

 

Here:
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/te_interactive_index.html