We don’t have kids in our home anymore, so when I want to get a gift for a little one, I go online. We’re a tech company so my favorite gift is almost always a STEM toys for kids. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Generally, I’ll do some research to see which toys have won awards, which are well-liked by parenting magazines, which are highly rated online, and which my friends or family may have told me about.
Yup, I’ve done the work so you don’t have to! And, just so you know, if you purchase anything from the links on this page we may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Contents
Why are STEM toys good for kids?
STEM toys help kids develop a love of learning while they figure out how things work. Some people think that STEM is only about teaching kids how to code, but it is so much more than that. These toys help kids develop:
- Spatial awareness
- Reasoning skills
- Engineering thinking
- Critical thinking skills
- Engineering design
- Problem-solving skills
Think about an infant playing on the floor with pots and pans. Can this bowl fit into this pot? Can this pot go on top of this plastic container? How high of a tower can I make with all of these cookbooks? That’s the learning process in action! STEM toys build on that early learning.
What are examples of STEM toys?
- Legos and plain old building blocks
- Puzzle cubes
- Science books with experiments, explaining concepts, for reference, or just telling a good story.
- Marble runs teach design, trial & error, and are a lot of fun
- Scientific websites like NASA and National Geographic are great for learning about the world
- Robot kits
- Coding kits for all ages
- Simple Circuit kits so they can learn about engineering and electronics
- Jig-saw puzzles teach spatial awareness
- Even a spinning top!
Learn more about the benefits of STEM toys for your kids:
- Here’s a great (short) article about why Artificially Intelligent Robot Toys are good for kids. Dr. Anna Koop of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute says “If a human expert can do it, AI probably can. But if a baby or puppy can do it, AI probably can’t.”
- Here’s more about the benefits of STEM toys.
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