Electronics kits are still available. In fact, the past few years have seen a revival of the DIY spirit and so you can probably find more kits and such today than ever before. For an introduction to this subculture, surf over to Make Magazine...
http://makezine.com/
The magazine is awesome. But the blog is a zillion times better.
Make should be required reading for every mad scientist. I strongly recommend every one of you gives it a try. I think you'll be shocked.