STEM Gift Ideas

My son is a lover of all things Science, engineering, and technology!  Not so much on the math part, but hey… I’ll take whatever I can get. I wanted to share some of our favorite STEM gift ideas to help you with your science lover.

Many of the toys we have purchased or he receives would fit into the STEM category, so I wanted to share them with you.

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Dash! I have talked about Dash before. We love this little guy. He is app driven, so you can use Apple of Android products with him. We use my iPhone, but as the screen is fairly small we are planning to start using my husband’s iPad with him. There are many accessories that you can get with Dash. We have the ball launcher and while it does add a little more fun to Dash the extra accessories aren’t required for you to use it and love it. There is a smaller version of Dash, Dot can do many of the things Dash does and is great if you aren’t so keen on spending quite as much.

We have the Thames and Kosmos Remote Control Machines kit. I did a post on it over here! We used out kit and our son built a remote controlled car that helped my husband in his filming business so they could get very smooth movement with the camera. So, it was not just a toy, but a huge problem solver for us. There is a book with the kit to tell you how to make many different creations, but once my son figured out how to get it working he has had a blast creating new inventions. It allows for a lot of creativity. We were also able to throw in some other loose pieces we had from another Thames and Kosmos kit we had and make even more amazing stuff.

For Christmas a few years ago we bought our son the Snap Circuits kit. He was about 5 the year we got them for him and he quickly picked up how it worked and how to make sure his circuits had to be closed. There is a book to tell how to do the many different activities with the kit. The directions are presented as an easy to follow photo that makes the assembly a snap (pun intended). The next year we got the Snap Circuits Remote Control Rover. It was also easy to assemble and we enjoyed it until we broke one of the wires. It could not withstand the pressure my toddler put on it. But this did reiterate how strong the rest of the kit has been. I am sure we can purchase a new wire and get our truck moving again, but for now the kits have been combined and the parts have been used to make many more contraptions than I would have thought.

My son loves Legos. He had seen this Crazy Action Contraptions kit while looking around a museum gift shop. We loved this kit and he was about 5 when he got it as a gift. He could put the things together, but eventually he began to mix the pieces in with his other Legos, so now finding the parts needed to make the activities in the book is impossible. So it is possible for younger children to play with it and put it together, but if you want them to keep it separate and be able to use it again and again they may need to be a little older. I do think it  would be fun to get this again with the hopes that this time he will keep them separate.

The Magnet Science Kit I (ahem… I mean my son) got for Christmas last year. I was the one that suggested it when a friend asked what to get him. He really enjoys playing with the magnets with his science school work so I was sure it would be a hit. IT WAS! It sounds so simple, magnets. But the various ways it shows you to have fun with them was the winner! We made the bolt man, drove the car all over the house. We had a great time with it and still get it out and play with it from time to time.

The Potato Clock was another item we saw in a museum gift shop that we had to come home and order on Amazon. It was pretty neat and I will admit I was skeptical it would work, but my son was amazed the potatoes aren’t just good baked with butter, but they are also “electric”.

Items on our Wish List

We do a lot of research looking into some of the toys we want to get for our son. The types of things he is interested in are generally more pricey and we like to be smart shoppers. These are items we don’t yet own, but have researched and have on our list of items we will be getting for him in the future as we wait for him to get a little older.

The Star Wars Droid Inventor kit from little bits. I think this is something my son will LOVE. I have read other bloggers reviews and they have all raved on it. However, after reading the reviews I think it is something we need to wait on for another year so that it is something he can play with and maximize use with.

We had the opportunity to play with a Lego Mindstorms when we went to the Atlanta Science Festival. It is great for teaching coding and looks like it will be a lot of fun. But right now it is more advanced than what we are ready for. So it will still be a few years before we make this investment.

I would love to know about the stem toys that you have in your house or the toys you are hoping to get in the future. 

Pam is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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