We are often asked for STEM toy recommendations, so here is our guide just for you! The items featured below are some of the toys that our students love and return to time after time at home, during our meetings and during free play sessions. While this is a good place to start, it is certainly not an exclusive list, and awesome new toys are being introduced all the time.

Some of our favorite brands include:

• Learning Resources https://www.learningresources.com/shop/category/stem-toys

• Lego & Lego Education https://education.lego.com/en-us/

• Picasso Tiles https://www.picassotiles.com/

• Keva Planks https://shop.kevaplanks.com/KEVA-Products-by-Mindware_c_27.html

• Engino Building Sets https://www.engino.com/

• Taska Toys https://taksatoys.com

• Sphero Robots https://sphero.com

• Steve Spangler Science Kits https://www.amazon.com/stevespanglerscience

• Mark Rober Inventors Kits https://www.crunchlabs.com

• KiwiCo Crates for ages 0-15+ https://www.kiwico.com

Some of our favorite toy shopping spots besides Amazon include:

• Grandrabbits Toy Shoppe ***Local Business*** https://www.grtoys.com/

• Young Explorers ***Local Business*** https://youngexplorersco.com

• Lakeshore Learning *Store at Park Meadows Mall* https://www.lakeshorelearning.com/

• Mindware https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/

• Fat Brain Toys https://www.fatbraintoys.com

• Think Fun Games https://www.thinkfun.com/en-US

Things to think about when choosing STEM toys:

• Is the toy developmentally appropriate for the child who will be playing with it? While the age ranges listed on toys can be helpful, it is important to consider the actual ability level of the child who will be using it.

  • Too simple: While a toy that allows for independent play reinforces skills children already have and allows them to expand on those skills organically, it may become boring more quickly if there’s nothing left for the child to learn from playing with it.

  • Too advanced: If a toy requires an adult’s full support to build or use, it’s probably best to wait a little longer to introduce that toy. Toys that children find frustrating likely require skills, experience, or manual dexterity that they do not yet have. Introducing these toys too early discourage kids from trying them when they are actually ready for them and would otherwise enjoy them.

  • Just right: Toys that need a little bit of adult support in the beginning provide perfect opportunities for learning and sharing in the fun together. Then the child can reinforce their skills by continuing to play with the toy independently once they’ve learned how to use it.

• Can the child experiment with the toy and create many different projects with it? There are a lot of STEM and robotics toys on the market today, but many of them can only do one thing. (Remote control robots are a good example of this.) While students might learn something from following the directions or building that one thing, they are likely to loose interest quickly once the novelty wears off. You’re likely going to invest a lot of money in STEM toys, so we recommend toys that offer a little bit of instruction in the beginning to get the child started, and then provide endless avenues for experimentation and creative building. The toy gets bonus points if it can easily incorporate other toys and building sets into the action. (LEGOs, wooden blocks, or programmable robots are some good examples here.)

• Is the toy targeted at a specific gender? For many years, STEM and engineering toys were designed to appeal specifically to boys. While this is starting to change, remember that girls are just as capable as boys when given equal access to STEM learning and materials. Try to buy toys that will appeal to both the boys and the girls in your life.

• The toy may be cute or “kid friendly”, but does it actually work? Many science toys marketed for young children are cute and can take a beating, but they also don’t work very well for real scientific exploration. Don’t be afraid to trust children with real scientific tools. Invest in a real magnifying glass, a real microscope, or a real telescope, and then teach your child how to use them safely and correctly. This can be fun and rewarding for your both! Also be sure to read the reviews before buying. Some tools and kits definitely work better than others.