Gifts and Toys for STEM Kids
Inspiration? Curiosity? Cultivation and psychological engineering of future engineers?
Some cousins of mine are less than 10 years old and clearly enjoy playing with Lego, doing experiments of their own, making Mechano, learning about maths / computers / mechanisms etc. Who knows where these interests will go, but I’d like to encourage them. My own experience with science kits and STEM toys as a kid was mixed. Lego, Meccano and Knex were great. Lego Mindstorms wasn’t that good for me. And some other kits just had me follow instructions usingly increasingly sophisticated parts rather than encouraging Feynmanian inquiry into how things work and trying to make things more driven by my own curiosity. That said, I may just be the sort of person who wants to follow steps and finish a thing instead of more lateral explorations…
Anyways, here’s a list of toys, kits and other things you might buy or source for an inquisitive kid you know. Do let me know if you have any additions to suggest, reviews to share, or other thoughts. Ciao!
STEM Gifts for kids
List is not in order of recommendation. These suggestions were generally made with 5 - 10 year olds in mind. I have initially purchased the a Connetix Magnetic Marble Run set, and the Prime Climb board game by Math For Love. Prime Climb looks exceptionally well designed, and I look forward to playing it.
The Useless Machine, $25 - soldering required
Clocks, drum kits, LCD kits also available
Boldport on Pimoroni, seems good for learning soldering
The TAP, $15
The MOSTAP, $15
Yo-Yo Machines, $25 - maybe good?
Litmus paper, magnifying glass, prism
Snap Circuits | $50 - $200
Classic one, $90, make radios, doorbells, games etc
Tinkering Labs Kits ‘stem kits for open ended play’ | can buy separate wooden parts, wheels etc
Electric Motor Catalyst kit, $65 | seems you can make a few different moving things
Lego Education, $320
Includes some electronics and mechanical parts
Bunch of different instructions available for things to build. More advanced kits available
BricQ motion kit, $150
Connetix Magnetic Tiles & Marble Runs, €100
92 piece set for €100
Bigger / smaller kits available for €50 - €200
Curiosity Box ~$20 / box
Look like more fold paper together and read about cool things than more advanced making. One box involves making a periscope. Think & Tinker box might be good.
Pocket Microscope ~$20
Needs smartphone to use
Model Rockets
Alpha Estes 3 recommended for beginners. Adult supervision recommended. $25
Apogee Rockets guide to getting started, intro kits, apprentice kit, $12
CrunchLabs $25/month
My Aunt & Uncle preferred Kiwi Crate or TinkerBox.
Kiwico | $20 / month
Kiwi Crate seems standard for 8 year olds. Look like well made DIY kits.
“For younger kids they will be wasted unless there is an adult on hand to invest two hours. The real gift would be a kiwi box plus some serious investment of your own time. My son is 8.5 and just finally can do a kiwi box unsupervised, but still benefits much more from the box in combination with at least 30 minutes of adult time.”
Math for Love | ~$25?
Prime Climb looks fun , $25, for ages 10+.
Camelot Jr $30
“Less stem-ey and more maths/puzzle-like but this one has been a big hit with friends whose kids are in that age range [5-10 yos]”
Velleman Kits, $20
Most require soldering
Whadda Start to solder educational kit; $20
Get the components in the linked vid above and make it with them
More advanced, solder-focused electronics kits
Atari Punk Console Kit - Rackit, $20
Requires soldering
Soldering irons -
FX Hakko 888D - $200. Maybe worth buying a cheaper iron for them to try out first.
Pinecil - $30.
Maths Books
Others listed on linked Substack.

Love this list! I ordered the maths - no problem textbook <3