HEXA LAB Open playground

HEXA LABMagnetic circuit kitby 360 Labs

Small snaps.Big discoveries.

Real circuits that click together with magnets. Fifteen tiles, endless ideas, made for curious minds aged 6–14+.

Try the free playground

Kickstarter planned for March 2027 · The playground is free, no account needed

Pre-production render The Complete Kit: all 15 tiles
6–14+curious minds 15magnetic circuit tiles 28free online activities ↗ Prototypestage · see production →

The reveal film

Why HEXA LAB

Little kit.
Lots of “I made that.”

No soldering, no tools, no screen required. Just tiles, leads and a question worth chasing.

Magnetic by design

A satisfying snap.
A real connection.

Magnetic leads connect the dock, a switch and a glowing LED tile

Learn by doing

28 ways to wonder what happens next.

Two LED tiles glowing on the build board in a dark studio

Thoughtful by design

A colour for every job.
An idea in every tile.

The HEXA LAB tiles laid out by colour and function

Ready to give

Big ideas.
All in one box.

The open HEXA LAB gift box with tiles, dock and a rack of coloured leads

Product images on this site are pre-production renders made from our CAD files.

How it works

It starts with a snap.
It ends with “why?”

  1. Snap.

    Place tiles on the board. Touch a lead to a silver terminal and the magnet pulls it home.

  2. Switch.

    Close the loop back to the 9 V dock. See the LED glow, hear the buzzer or set the motor spinning.

  3. Wonder.

    Change a connection. Try another tile. Open the same circuit online to see what the electricity is doing.

Pre-production render The magnet pulls the lead home; the LED comes on.
Illustration: an LED tile taken apart into two lead plugs, the cover, the LED, two magnetic snaps, the circuit board, the body and four screws
Illustration Inside the red LED tile

Inside a tile

Real engineering.
Made for small hands.

  • Magnetic snap terminals

    The plug's steel face is drawn onto a magnet in the tile. One hand, no pinching, no bent pins.

  • No loose wires inside

    The snap's prongs fold straight onto gold pads on a circuit board, so there is nothing to work loose.

  • LEDs that survive mistakes

    Each LED tile has its own resistor and a protection diode. Put it in backwards and it stays dark instead of burning out.

  • A dock with a resettable fuse

    Short the battery by mistake and the fuse cuts the current. Take the battery out and it's ready again.

These protections are designed in and are being tested now. See where production is up to.

The playground is open

The first “I made it!”
is a click away.

Build on a virtual board, watch the current move, then try the same circuit with the real kit. Step-by-step activities take kids from one light to switches, sensors and logic.

Open the playground Peek at the Smart Lab preview

Free · No account · Works on phones, tablets and laptops

01

Make your first light

A friendly first circuit, one connection at a time.

 02

Take control

Add a switch. Turn your idea on and off.

 08

Share the power

Three LEDs, one battery: discover series circuits.

 ∞

Follow your own idea

An open board and every part to experiment with.

See it in motion

See the spark.
Then make it happen.

Six of the kit's activities, filmed as pre-production renders. Tap one to watch, then try it yourself.

Try activity 2 →
Try activity 4 →
Try activity 6 →
Try activity 8 →
Try activity 14 →
Try activity 16 →

The Complete Kit

One kit.
So many starting points.

Fifteen tiles in five colours, one colour for each job. 36 leads, a black build board, an activity book and a gift box that keeps it all in place.

Fourteen hexagon tiles and the red 9 V dock: blue control tiles, amber output tiles, a green light sensor and grey resistor and junction tiles
See all 15 modules and prices Kit pricing

Ready to give

Big ideas.
All in one box.

Lift the lid: tiles sit on the board, the dock has its own bay, and all 36 leads stand in a rack, sorted by length and colour. Tidying up becomes part of the game, and nothing goes missing.

For classrooms

The Classroom 6-Pack has six Complete Kits, a teacher guide and a spares bag. Activities follow the electrical circuits topic in Year 6 Science and build towards Digital Technologies.

The open HEXA LAB gift box with tiles on the black board, the 9 V dock in its bay and coloured leads in a rack
Pre-production render The Complete Kit gift box
Young learners building Gadget Engineer projects together at TechSpark Studio
Gadget Engineer workshop at TechSpark Studio, from our earlier programmes.

How it came to be

It began around
a workbench.

Before HEXA LAB there was Gadget Engineer: hands-on builds made with wood, cardboard and real electronic parts, designed at 360 Labs with guides and a TV series so learners could build along.

  1. Gadget Engineer begins at 360 Labs

    Affordable build kits for young learners in Sri Lanka, like a wooden drag car and a desk fan.

  2. 40+ kit designs, and a TV series

    Every kit came with a QR-linked guide, and A+ Kids TV walked learners through each build on screen.

  3. 500+ kits produced and sold

    Priced at around LKR 2,000–3,000 so more families could take part.

  4. HEXA LAB

    The same idea, made reusable: magnetic tiles you connect, experiment with, take apart and begin again.

40+earlier STEM kit designs

500+Gadget Engineer kits sold in 2024–25

Meet the designer

These milestones belong to Gadget Engineer. HEXA LAB is currently in development.

Our learning community

Real kids.
Real things they made.

Moments from the Gadget Engineer programmes that came before HEXA LAB, and the learners who shaped it.

Learners taking part in the 360 Labs Engineering Camp at TechSpark Studio
360 Labs Engineering Camp at TechSpark Studio
A young Gadget Engineer learner proudly holding his kit
A Gadget Engineer learner with his kit
A+ Kids TV · Build along

Gadget Engineer

Watch the original step-by-step kit series.
Cinnamon Chat · Interview

STEM and entrepreneurship for kids

A conversation with Nethila about learning by making.

Programme photos and videos show earlier 360 Labs projects, not HEXA LAB customers.

Planned Kickstarter rewards · March 2027

Your next discovery.
Coming soon.

Prices in Australian dollars. After the campaign the Complete Kit will be A$279.

Prices for each module
Shipping estimates (charged after the campaign)
DestinationEstimate

We charge shipping in the pledge manager after the campaign, so you pay the real cost for your country. EU and UK orders ship with VAT paid; US orders ship from a US warehouse.

Production line · November 2026

From workbench
to your home.

Seven stages from first sketch to delivery. Here is exactly where HEXA LAB is today.

  1. DoneDesign

    All 15 tiles, the dock, leads and gift box in 3D, with fit checks.

  2. DoneCircuit boards

    Boards designed and ordered; prototype parts ordered.

  3. Now · Nov 2026Prototypes

    Building the first two kits and testing snap joints, heat and drops.

  4. Mar 2027Kickstarter

    A 30-day campaign, shown with real prototype photos and video.

  5. Apr–Jun 2027Tooling & safety tests

    Lead tooling, golden samples and independent toy-safety testing.

  6. Jun–Aug 2027Pilot & production

    A 50-kit pilot run, then the full production run.

  7. Sep–Oct 2027Shipping

    Australia first, then the US and Europe.

Done

Online playground with 28 activities and a tested circuit simulator.

Now

First two kits on the bench: snap joints, heat and drop tests.

Planned

Independent safety testing for toys and electrical toys (AU/NZ, US, EU/UK) before anything ships.

All dates are targets and depend on funding, supplier lead times and successful testing. Images marked “Pre-production render” are computer renders of the final design; the Kickstarter page will show the real, working prototype. HEXA LAB has not been certified to any safety standard yet.

Where the money goes

Our goal: A$125,000

That is what it takes to make the first 620 kits properly: tooling for the leads, independent safety testing in Australia, the US and Europe, a pilot run, and the kits themselves. Kickstarter is all-or-nothing, so if we don't reach the goal, nobody is charged.

    Questions

    Good to know.

    What age is HEXA LAB for?

    Ages 6 to 14+. Six-year-olds start with Level 1 (light, switch, buzzer) with an adult nearby. Older kids move on to series and parallel circuits, sensors and logic, and teenagers can go further with the Smart Lab when it arrives.

    Is it safe?

    It runs on one 9 V battery, with a screwed battery door. The dock has a resettable fuse for short circuits, and LED tiles are protected against being connected backwards. Magnets are sealed inside the tiles. The kit will be independently tested to toy and electrical-toy standards before it ships; until then we don't claim certification.

    Can I buy single modules?

    That is the plan. Individual modules are for replacements and add-ons once kits have shipped. See the planned price of each module. The Complete Kit stays the better value for getting started.

    Does it work with Snap Circuits or other kits?

    No. HEXA LAB uses its own magnetic snap and hexagon grid. The playground and activity book are written for these tiles.

    What do I need besides the kit?

    One 9 V battery. The playground runs in any modern browser on a tablet, laptop or phone, free, with no account.

    Can schools order?

    Yes. Back the Classroom 6-Pack, or contact us after the campaign about purchase orders and larger quantities.

    What happens if the campaign doesn't reach its goal?

    Kickstarter is all-or-nothing: nobody is charged, and we'll come back with a better plan.

    Will the Smart Lab or new tiles be rewards?

    Not in this campaign. We only offer what we can show working. The Smart Lab development preview is available inside the playground.

    Pre-production render