The Best STEM-Inspiring Gifts for Kids

PCMag

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PC Magazine

7 min readDec 13, 2017

Get your kids interested in STEM and spark their inner geek with these toys and kits.

By Carol Mangis

Kids are constantly glued to their gadgets: texting friends, playing video games, watching (or creating) YouTube videos, and sending snaps. But most children — whether or not they know it yet — are thrilled to have a more hands-on, under-the-hood experience with digital technology.

Parents who want to encourage and inspire their kids to stretch their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) muscles probably already know this, but there’s an avalanche of new toys and kits claiming to provide just that, and we tried out a bunch of them. Here’s a roundup of products that give real, creative, DIY experience of electronics, robotics, and coding to build interest and confidence in the most neophyte of techies.

Also, if you’re looking to buy your kid her first computer, check out our brand-new roundup, The Best Laptops for Kids, for recommendations.

Circuit Cubes Whacky Wheels Kit

Does your household contain heaps of colorful little plastic blocks? Circuit Cubes kits offer electronics blocks that work together with Legos. They’re a simpler (and less expensive) alternative to LittleBits. The Whacky Wheels kit contains a Battery Cube, Motor Cube, and LED Cube, which connect magnetically, as well as some cutout paper templates; you build a moving chassis, then pop on the templates to create different types of vehicles — and learn circuitry basics as you go. You’re then encouraged to use your DIY imagination to create other moving vehicles with your own materials — including but not limited to Legos. There’s also a Bright Lights Kit and Smart Art kit, so you can pick the one your kid will respond to best.

Elenco Snap Circuits Snapino

Elenco’s Snap Circuits line is the most affordable — and also one of the easiest — ways for kids to get into basic electronics. With an array of lights, switches, and buzzers, it feels more like classic Radio Shack hacking than higher-level kits such as LittleBits or Lego Boost do. The new Snapino kit (recommended for ages 12 and up) adds an Arduino UNO circuit board — a tiny but real computer — to the mix, giving Snap Circuits its first true programmability. Just bear in mind that your kids (and you) will have to be self-starters when it comes to learning how to use it.

Elenco Snap Circuits STEM Kit

The Snap Circuits STEM kit (for kids 8 and older), one of the company’s more elaborate offerings, sells for under $50. It comes with more than 45 circuitry components, including an electrical meter, electromagnets, electric motor/generator, lamps, switches, a compass, and electrodes, along with instructions for 93 projects that range from intros to basic circuitry concepts to making your own spin-draw toy. The parts snap together easily, so no need for tools or soldering. And for those who already own one of the Snap Circuits kits, all the pieces from both kits are compatible.

4Kano Computer Kit

Building your own computer is a geeky rite of passage, and Kano’s 2017 kit lets kids six and older get a beginner’s experience, seeing how the basic parts fit and work together. The kit includes a Raspberry Pi 3 (a small computer in its own right, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity), along with a keyboard, case, speaker, cables, memory, the Kano OS, and plenty of apps — you’ll need an HDMI monitor. Once the computer’s up and running, kids can complete projects and challenges — and learn to code along the way.

Kano Motion Sensor Kit

This super little kit from Kano contains just a motion sensor, suction cup, and USB cable — you’ll be surprised how much you can do with it, along with its companion app. Kids 6 and older learn to use blocks of code to create gesture-controllable projects, like an on-screen “guitar” that you strum by waving your hand over the sensor. You’re encouraged to play with the code and alter your creations; the “challenges” become increasingly difficult yet remain accessible (though younger kids might need some help getting started). The Motion Sensor works with PCs, Macs, or Linux computers. It also works with the Kano Computer Kit (above).

LittleBits Code Kit

We’re fans of LittleBits modular electronics kits; we’ve awarded them several Editors’ Choice awards, most recently to the second-edition Gizmos & Gadgets Kit. The new LittleBits Code Kit is designed to be used in educational settings to introduce kids from third to eighth grades to programming principles, by creating games through coding. LittleBits encourages parents to urge their schools to buy the kit. But if you really want to get your kids involved in coding and are willing to take an active role in the process, you can purchase the kit yourself. It may be overkill for some, but it’s a robust solution and an effective tool.

Lego Boost Creative Toolbox

For kids who are a bit too young to handle Lego’s venerable MindStorms robotics kits, look no further than its Boost Creative Toolbox. Designed to introduce children ages 7 to 12 to coding and robotics, the Boost kit provides building blocks with sensors, motors, and app-based coding to help them build a variety of robotic toys that can respond to stimuli. It’s a simple, fun, and relatively affordable approach that teaches the principles of programming, making it worthy of our Editors’ Choice designation.

Ozobot Evo

The tiny, adorable Ozobot Evo fits easily in a kid’s pocket, but this bot might just be bigger on the inside: The Evo packs in proximity and optical sensors, and a speaker, among other tech (we kind of love that its shell is transparent, so you can see the actual components). It can do some tricks right out of the box, including following your moving finger and playing songs. But once you connect it to a smartphone, the options widen considerably. You can use Blockly-based code to create routines with movement, sounds, and light; share and explore inventions; and earn stars redeemable for content and avatars. The Evo’s portability and unique interactivity with paper and markers make it a great gift.

Piper Computer Kit

The terrific (albeit pricey) Piper Computer Kit supplies all the components you need to build a pretty cool-looking kid-size computer, including a Raspberry Pi unit, a laser-cut wood case, a (small) screen, a battery, and a (very small) mouse. That’s just the beginning: Once you’ve put your computer together, you can play games in a special Minecraft mod that show you how to build hardware projects you can use, in turn, to accomplish goals within the Minecraft universe. Even better, the Piper computer also serves as an actual computer; it goes online, has a word processor, and so on.

Pixel Press & Mattel Bloxels Star Wars Build Your Own Video Game

Does the phrase “do-it-yourself video games” seem contradictory? Not for Bloxels, which lets kids invent their own games — including character designs, stories, and programming. You create pixel art with physical blocks on a game board, and with a free app, import it into your game (you provide the smart device). This new kit focuses on the ever-popular Star Wars world. As you play the games you made, you can unlock new characters and scenery to use in future creations. With parents’ permission, kids can share their games with other players, too.

Wonder Workshop Cue the CleverBot

Wonder Workshop’s newest robot, Cue is made to appeal to kids ages 11 and up: It has a cool design and features a choice of four sassy personalities; the one you choose will learn from your interactions and develop accordingly. Cue is already put together, so you can start playing games with it right out of the box — but there’s a lot more to do. You can create dance and other movement routines and and program it to explore its environment via JavaScript or block code. Cue can even text-chat with you; it knows 170,000 words and can respond 30,000 different ways, including telling you jokes and singing songs.