Kits for beginner kids

[jdave]

Hi everyone.   I've been tinkering with stuff professionally and casually all my life(I'm 59) and I'm happy to see my 13 year old grandson showing an interest in electronics and mechanics as well.  I'm looking for some advice on good beginner kits for a kid that age.  I don't live close enough to help him out with things like soldering or advanced techniques so I'm looking right now for very basic kits based either on breadboard or snap together type construction.  Right now I'm leaning towards Arduino or perhaps Lego.  He's had standard Lego kits and enjoyed them so that would be an extension of what he already is familiar with.   But they can make anything look wonderful online, I'd like to hear from folks who have had actual experience with products because reality is always different from the advertising.
      Also, my ten year old granddaughter has been determined since she was six that she's going to be an architect.  I realize it's a bit off topic but if anyone knows of any kits or software that would be good for her I'd be glad to hear about it. 
        Many thanks, and keep on tinkering.

[LabSpokane]

13 is plenty old enought to start with the Arduino. Add in a breadboard shield for tinkering.

[grantbob]

If he can drive the software to upload programs to the Arduino something like the SparkFun Inventors Kit or Mini Inventors Kit might be a good idea. It comes with a breadboard, sensor, buttons, a servo, wires etc. It would be something he could build on (harder to do that with the snap together kits).

If you want to participate, it would also be cool if you got the same kit and you could go through the projects together and compare notes on Skype, Hangouts etc.

-grantbob

[Simon]

I'd be inclined to start with the basics. I don't know what his current knowledge is but he should be taught what basic components are and how to use them in the basics of using transistors as switches and the basic ICs the 555 timer. Then you can worry about the Arduino. Unless of course by electronics you mean programming. For heaven's sake don't make the mistake of letting him believe that electronics is all about programming it will only kick him hard in the backside later in life. My employer abandoned their last electronics subcontractor because while they could write software they were dangerously and life threateningly clueless about the basic operation of some electronic components and basic building blocks of electronics.