Do you have a science, tech, engineering, art or math fanatic in your family? Are you looking to inspire one? We’ve rounded up a dozen top STEAM/STEM education inspired gifts to spark your child’s creativity and desire to learn. These gifts are so fun, the kids won’t even realize they are learning!
LEGO Chain Reactions
$ 19.95 at Fat Brain Toys
Have you ever basked in the excitement that is watching a Rube Goldberg-like contraption unfold? Well, now you can build one of your own while learning all about the physics behind it! Using over thirty LEGO elements, plus a few rolling spheres, you get to build ten brilliant contraptions that all come together to create an amazing chain reaction.
Send a tire spinning around a pole to launch a hammer and lift a sign. Spin a windmill to keep the ball rolling and then start a reaction that zig-zags upwards. Build a pulley that launches a ball, a wild spinning vortex, and an amazing zig-zag finish line!
*It’s worth noting that this toy is best for kids who already have a collection of LEGOs, as many of the projects require additional blocks.
Techno Gears Fun to Build Bionic Bug and Crazy Copter Set
$36 on Amazon
This kit offers two great builds in one easy package. Kids love to build and the new Techno Gears Bionic Bug and Quirky Copter is the perfect way to encourage their engineering and architectural skills. With over 80 colorful construction pieces, power motor and more, this kit includes everything your child will need to allow them to build their own bug that has moving legs and head and copter with motorized gears. All kits are interchangeable so kids can combine the two to create a unique masterpiece as well.
Off Bits
$15 at Fat Brain Toys
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Delve into the “nuts and bolts” of character-building creativity! Combining familiar parts, cutting edge design, and a 21st-century approach to collaboration, The OffBits system brings a unique new twist to classic construction fun. Choose between four iconic color schemes and then use the special five-in-one SuperTool to start conjuring up all kinds of robot-like characters.
Each kit enables you to create at least 3 unique “out of the box” models, plus an infinite number of possible designs created by your own imagination. Once you’ve built something new, use the included registration code to share it and show it off to an online community of creators!
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Real Science Real Fun
$49.99 at Online Science Mall
Forget the grueling textbooks and formalities €“ This kit lets kids skip straight to the FUN of science! Following along with the simple and exciting instructions, young scientists get to explore 43 different experiments that each help to expand their minds while mesmerizing their imaginations.
Make a raisin dance around inside a glass of soda. Create instant snowballs without having to wait around for winter. Make egg-shell geodes, grow your own crystal tree, make stained glass out of sugar, learn about convection currents, and so much more.
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Squigz
$25- $50 at Fat Brain Toys
Squigz are fun little suckers!
Apply pressure to Squigz and the fun begins. Connecting to each other and to any solid, non-porous surface – Squigz are a species all their own. They flex. They stick. They suck people into creativity. Once they take hold, it takes some pull to separate them. When Squigz POP! in protest – you’ll have to admit€¦ your hands and ears are shamelessly delighted!
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Bit Coding Robot
$39.99 at Amazon
With Bit, you’ll start coding with the stroke of a marker. Draw lines and Color Codes, and Bit follows each colorful command. Discover over 20 Color Codes as you complete your Bit Activity Pack. Then, advance with the OzoBlockly code editor on a computer or tablet. Drag and drop blocks to create programs for Bit, then load your code just by holding Bit up to your screen.
Code & Go Mouse Mania Board Game
$19 at Learning Resources
This analog coding game teaches digital skills! This fun board game pairs hands-on play with strategies based on fundamental coding concepts. Two to four players take on the roles of rival mice in the hunt for blocks of delicious cheese scattered around the game board. On each turn, players draw coding cards that they string together into sequences of commands to “compute€ their way toward those tempting cheesy wedges.
The player who collects the most cheese wedges at the end of the game wins, but all players come away with new skills and understanding€”in addition to the coding component, each game is built around STEM skills including problem solving and critical thinking. The game even offers multiple levels of play, helping it grow alongside your kids’ new skills.
Magical Microbes MudWatt Kit
$29 at Magical Microbes
Discover the power beneath your feet and create clean energy from mud!
MudWatt engages kids in STEM in a whole new way, using the power of electricity-generating bacteria living in the soil beneath our feet!€‰
Kids experiment with different types of soil (and food from the fridge) to maximize their power output. The MudWatt Explorer App lets kids measure their power, track their MudWatt’s bacteria growth, and unlock an awesome educational comic book!
Fisher Price Think & Learn Code-a-Pillar
$35 at Barnes and Noble
Code-a-pillar„¢ inspires little learners to be big thinkers! Preschoolers can arrange (and rearrange) the easy-to-connect segments in endless combinations to send Code-a-pillar„¢ on his path.
This learning toy encourages experimentation while developing important skills like problem solving, planning & sequencing and critical thinking. There’s no end to the combinations kids can make – mix up the segments and put them back together to send Code-a-pillar„¢ in a different direction every time!
Science Academy: Deluxe Bath Bomb Lab Kit
$34.95 at Mindware
Pamper yourself and soak up some knowledge about chemistry as you make 8 fragrant, effervescent bath bombs! It’s a deluxe kit that’s brimming with specialty bath bomb goodies for the most fun, fizzy spa-themed science projects for kids! Learn about chemical reactions as you experiment with colors, fragrances and ingredients. You can even hide charms in 2 of your bath bombs and wrap some as gifts with the included gift bags, string and tags. It’s the ultimate spa science set that gives you chemistry smarts plus soft, hydrated skin!
Bamboo Builder Marble Run
$90 and up from Fat Brain Toys
Drop in on a brilliantly beautiful, powerful, Eco-friendly marble-run adventure! Each set features hand-crafted, carbonized tracks, colorful bamboo cylinders, and sustainable wood powder spirals that deliver multi-functional fun with an infinite number of possible designs.
Don’t worry if you can’t get the creative juices flowing right away – the instruction book included in each set provides basic building concepts plus exciting tips and tricks that’ll really get your marbles rolling.
Early engineering, three-dimensional thinking, creativity, and problem solving all get a big boost once kids start exploring the unique, Earth-friendly thrill of the Bamboo Builder Marble Run sets.
Snapology Classes
$10 and up at Snapology
Register your little loved one for a Snapology Class and give the gift of a truly fun STEM learning experience. From Junior Scientists to video game design, robotics to animation or escape rooms Snapology offers something to inspire any child. Can’t pick a class? Most locations offer gift cards that can be redeemed for anything from robotics classes to birthday parties. Click here to find a location near you.
