Residential Solar Powered Products & Information

 

Nitro-Pak Preparedness Center

Solar Powered Toys

Build your own remote controlled, solar powered airplane!  Click the picture for parts list and DIY instructions.

Solar powered toys are a great way for kids to learn about solar energy.  Many toys have a solar cell integrated into their design.  They can either operated in direct sunlight situations without a battery or the solar panel my charge internal batteries for anytime use depending on their construction.

It seems that almost every childs toy nowadays is electronic in nature and require batteries to operate.  You could save allot of money by replacing the disposable style ones with the rechargeable kind.  You could even go a step further and purchase solar powered batteries that are recharged with a solar cell or an AC outlet / USB port.  Hand crank power units are also available to energize them with a normal rechargeable battery kit.  Besides reducing cost, having children crank up the power to operate their toys could also be fun.

Besides the solar toys shown below, the following retailers offer many different alternative energy toys:

Fat Brain Toys   |   Scientifics Online

Although I usually encourage people to buy products Made in the USA, the following site contains such a rich and diverse selection of cheap solar toys, I couldn't resist. (the two websites toys above, are probably all made there anyway)

Made in China



Mini Educational Solar Kit

6 In 1 Educational Solar Toy - Mini Solar Kit

Mini building kits teach children the benefits of solar energy while they create a toy that is both fun to play with and requires no batteries. Newest member of this popular line is the 6 in 1 Educational Solar Kit an excellent beginner building kit designed to teach how the sun is used to drive a small motor. Children use the 21 snap together parts (no tools required) to build six different working models including an airboat, windmill, puppy and two different planes.

Elenco AK590 Photon Solar Racer Kit

Photon Toy Solar Car Racer Kit

Learn all about solar energy and how to convert it to useful applications. You will build this exciting sleek solar toy car that runs on a high efficiency solar cell. Have your friends build one too and have fun racing them. No soldering required. The solar car comes in clear plastic. The car can be painted any color scheme that you desire (paint is not supplied). The photo is painted to illustrate how the car could look.