The way big nations across the world are laying focus on early STEM education clearly indicates the prominence and influence of STEM on upcoming future. It has become imperative for parents and teachers to focus on building the STEM skill set right from early years.
The task at hand is massive and you cannot rest all your hopes on the education system to nurture STEM acumen. We are not saying you have to be a STEM whiz yourself and do all sorts of STEM activities at home! But what we are implying is that you can definitely creep in STEM into your children’s play routine. Add some STEM toys to their collection and let them do the work for you.
Experts Take on STEM Toys
Child development experts have stressed the need for children to play long enough. Now, we do know that children learn best through playing. And what could be better than toys that spark curiosity and creativity? According to Harvard education expert Tony Wagner, problem solving and critical thinking are the tools 21st- century children would need.
STEM toys fit wonderfully well to hone these skills. While nothing can replace the undivided attention of a caring adult fostering love for STEM, let us be realistic here. Our busy schedules do not offer us the luxury to engage in regular meaningful play with our children, let alone STEM inspired play!
Having the right tools (STEM toys) can change this equation dramatically. With a handy play guide, parents can turn into guides (to mentor their kids as and when necessary ) while keeping preserving their independence. Education experts vouch that STEM toys are important tools in fostering creativity and unearthing the hidden scientist.
Here’s the Monster List of STEM Toys for Kids…
There are a plethora of STEM toys in the market nowadays. Don’t add them all to your child’s play pen! Rather be mindful and select a few from each category to reap maximum joy and benefits.
Science Toys for Kids
1. Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. My First Microscope
This chunky, sturdy microscope will enlarge your child’s world and help them discover hidden treasures. Let them explore the structure rocks, leaves, household items and make their own interesting observations.
2. Uncle Milton John Deere Bug Jug
Excite your kids and enhance their observation skills with this bug viewer. Perfect to study bugs and critters, this bug viewer come with a removable built in magnifier.
3. SmartLab Toys Squishy Human Body
Help your children learn and understand anatomy with this super learning aid. Comes with removable organs and information cards to sate your child’s curiosity around his body.
4. Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Talking Telescope
This telescope is perfect for young explorers who are ready to embark on their journey to space. It comes with NASA pictures to delight children and drive their interest in space from the comfort of indoors.
5. Learning Resources STEM Force & Motion Activity Set
Let your child explore the Newton’s law of motion and learn some hands-on lessons on FORCE with this educational toy from Learning Resources. Your car lover is absolutely going to adore it.
6. Glow-in-the-Dark Lab (SmartLAB)
Get ready for chemistry fun with this Glow-in-the-Dark lab kit. Packed with 20 experiments, this kit will leave your children curious and hungry for more science fun.
7. Learning Resources Primary Science Deluxe Lab Set
Every little scientist needs this one. A lab kit is a must for your home science lab! This kit comes with 45 parts and almost all your science lab essentials.
8. Lauri – Fun with Magnets
Magnets spell FUN! No science toy list can be complete without this magnet kit. It’s 14 magnet experiments are sure to excite and inspire your kids.
Technology Toys for Kids
9. Hexbug Nano Zipline Starter Set
Welcome microbes with Hexbug. This set from Hexbug includes a zip line to add thrill to the game. Different combinations keep the interest alive and promote creative thinking.
10. GeoSmart Moon Lander
This is a must have for all children! It is perfect mix of magnetic tiles with electronic components to create a moon lander.
11. Robot Turtles
Planning to teach some basic programming skills to your little one but wondering how? Robot turtles is a game for you! This board game is great at teaching young kids programming skills and laying the basics of coding. It is suitable for kids four years old and above.
12. Snap Circuits Classic SC-300 Electronics Exploration Kit
If your kid loves taking gadgets apart and figuring out the components, Snap Circuits is the STEM toy she must have. Perfect for young children (8+ years) who are trying to learn about electricity and the technology used in appliances.
13. Learning Resources Botley The Coding Robot
Combine robotics and coding lessons with this awe-inspiring STEM toy. It helps children grasp how robotics and coding is interrelated through a programmable bot.
14. Kano Computer Kit
Does your child fancy building his/her own machines? Kano Computer kit lets children build their own portable computers. It is pricey but worth for little engineers in making.
15. LittleBits Rule Your Room Kit
This awesome coding toy for kids allows your child to learn about power sources and how to control electrical input and output. Suitable for children eight years and above, this kit is great for teaching problem solving and tinkering.
16. Playz My First Coding & Computer Science Kit
This is an exciting kit to learn coding, binary ASCII codes, create pixel pictures and algorithms. Perfect for a coding freak kid who is just learning to grasp the concepts. It is suitable for kids six years old and above.
17. Thinkfun Laser Maze
Let your tech geek challenge herself over this beam bending and laser shooting game. An award winning game, this game will open your child’s mind to understand how reflectors, splitters and mirrors work. Suited for kids eight years and above.
Engineering Games for Kids
18. Flying Start Magna Tiles
These magnetic tiles are perfect for your little engineer (three years and above) who is ready to build and experiment with his structures. This open-ended engineering game will surely get your child constructive while building beautiful structures.
19. Thinkfun Roller Coaster Challenge
Got an older kid who wants to look beyond blocks and challenge his mind? Roller Coaster challenge is just the perfect game. It comes with 40 challenge cards to develop engineering and problem solving skills. Recommended for kids 8 years old and above.
20. Lego Classic Creative Brick
Suitable for children four years old and up, this is a must have engineering toy for all kids. It allows your children to give form to their imaginations by coupling them with hands-on engineering.
21. Zephyr Mechanix
Want to give a real feel of metals, screws and construction to your kid? Then mechanix is the toy you are looking for. Adapted to suit various age brackets, pick a kit that suits your child’s age and interests.
22. Toy Bhoomi Design & Drill
Nothing is more exciting to a three year old than his own power drilling machine. This toy aims at building creativity while sparking interest in engineering fields from a young age.
23. Learning Resources Gears! Wreckergears
Suited for children four years plus, this toy is all about gears and how they work. Your kiddo will need to scratch her mind to build wrecking machines, using gears of course!
24. Discovery Marble Run Construction Set
This is a complete engineering cum mechanical toy that will set your child’s creativity free. This 321 piece set will surely keep your children busy figuring out pathways for marble.
25. Melissa & Doug Wooden Construction Building Set
This wooden construction toy is perfect for children four years and above. It includes nuts, bolts, drilled bars to help kids create and give life to their imagination.
26. Hape Dynamo Kid’s Wooden Domino Set
This award winning engineering toy for kids is great recommendation for all kids who love construction and dominos. It takes fun to the next level by clubbing domino effect with chain reaction. It is apt for the kids three and above.
27. Smartivity Mechanical Xylofun Music Machine
Perfect for kids eight years and above, this DIY mechanical toy is amazing fun for curious kids. Build your xylophone by following easy to understand instructions and learn basic principles of engineering.
28. Teifoc Villa with Garage Construction Set
This STEM engineering toy is a notch above all the construction toys available. It comes with real clay brick and malt based mortar to give children a real experience of constructing a house. Suited for kids six and above.
29. Learning Resources Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run
Build marble mazes to your heart’s content with these magnetic blocks from learning resources. Wonderful for boosting creativity, logical and critical thinking skills. Perfect for kids five years and above.
Math Toys for Kids
30. Melissa & Doug Abacus Classic Wooden Toy
A wooden abacus is an essential math toy every child needs to build a strong number sense and quantification skills. A great educational aid to early math, an abacus is a must for all kids.
31. Famous Quality My Cash Register Pretend Play
This pretend play toys will make math hands-on for your children and help them understand why we need math in everyday life. It combines creativity and math skills for hours of endless math fun.
32. Tangram
This classic shape puzzle is a great math toy for kids four years and above. It builds on spatial reasoning and help children in honing their imaginative skills.
33. Skillofun Wooden Cubes Pattern Box
This is a great math toy to teach children about patterns. The pattern box comes with wooden cubes and pattern cards to get children started on patterns. It is suitable for kids 3 years and above.
34. Jodo Gyan Shiksha Jodo Cubes
These connecting blocks from Jodo Gyan is a perfect tool to teach counting and math operations to kids. Open ended, these blocks can also be used for construction fun. Highly recommended!
35. MATHWORLD Geo-board
Build spatial awareness and creativity skills with a geo-board. Easy to play, geo-board is suitable for children above four years, geo-board is a must have.
36. Funskool Classic Spirograph
Spirograph is a perfect gift for children who love drawing and creating art. It is a magical tool that clubs math with abstract thinking to create beautiful masterpieces. Suitable for children six years and above!
37. Skola Toys Mosaic Nuts and Bolts
This is perfect amalgamation of math and engineering. Nuts and bolts mosaic works at building pattern sense while enhancing fine motor skills. Perfect for children four years and above.
38. Shumee Building & Stacking Wooden Fraction Blocks for Ages
Now this is a fun construction toy that teaches fractions to kids. Sounds like fun? We bet it is! Apt for kids five years and above, this toy will work discreetly at polishing your child’s math acumen.
39. Toymate Math-A-Magic Board Game- an Equation Making Game
Make math fun with this board game, which is somewhat like scrabble. But instead of alphabet tiles, you get number and manipulative tiles to make a highest scoring equation. Suitable for older audience – eight years and above.
40. ThinkFun Math Dice Junior
Make metal math a breeze with this fun dice game suitable for children six years and above. Easy to play, this game will give your children enough practice with numbers to become natural with math calculations.
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