Editor’s pick
Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set
Build a maze, plan the route, and code a mouse to the cheese
About $70brand list price View on Amazon
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Editor’s pick
Magna-Tiles Classic 100-Piece Set
Translucent magnetic tiles that turn flat shapes into 3D builds
About $120brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
hand2mind Numberblocks MathLink Cubes 1-10 Activity Set
Build the Numberblocks characters and see how numbers really work
About $30brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
SmartGames Camelot Jr.
Wooden block puzzles that build a path for the knight
About $25brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
LEGO City Lava Land Roller Coaster Park (60501)
A 2026 theme-park build with a launchable coaster and spinning ride
About $100brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
CrunchLabs by Mark Rober The Crunchinator
A hand-cranked crusher that shows how gears multiply force
About $35brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
Route-building train game sized for younger players
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Educational Insights Kanoodle Fan Edition (20th Anniversary)
220 new Kanoodle puzzles plus two bonus pieces
About $17brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
ThinkFun Gravity Maze
Marble-run logic puzzles where every tower placement counts
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Thames & Kosmos Mega Cyborg Hand
Build a giant wearable robot hand powered by water pressure
About $45brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100
Real electronic parts that snap together, no soldering
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Sphero indi At-Home Learning Kit
A little robot car kids program with colored cards
Typical price $100+ View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Ravensburger GraviTrax Starter Set
Design marble runs powered by gravity, magnets and momentum
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Makeblock mBot2 Coding Robot
Build a sensor robot, then code it from Scratch to Python
About $150brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Snap Circuits Classic SC-300 Electronics Kit
Build working circuits without a single wire or solder joint
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Thames & Kosmos CHEM C1000 Beginner Chemistry Set (V2.1)
A real first chemistry lab with 125 guided experiments
About $60brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Arduino Starter Kit (K000007)
The official way to learn Arduino, one breadboard project at a time
About $75brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit PRO (8GB, 128GB)
A full Raspberry Pi 5 computer, ready to boot out of the box
Typical price $100+ View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Elenco Practical Soldering Project Kit
Learn to solder by building a working two-tone siren
About $15brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ Telescope
Your phone shows exactly where to point, then you take over
About $250brand list price View on Amazon
Editor’s pick
Electronics for Kids, 2nd Edition
21 hands-on projects, from basic circuits to digital logic
About $25brand list price View on Amazon
Learning Resources Switcheroo Coding Crew
One robot, three rescue vehicles, lots of code-to-the-rescue missions
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
Learning Resources Botley 2.0 Coding Robot Activity Set
A screen-free coding robot with room to grow into longer programs
About $100brand list price View on Amazon
Learning Resources Coding Critters Ranger & Zip
A robot puppy that teaches coding through storybook adventures
About $55brand list price View on Amazon
Thames & Kosmos Kids First Coding & Robotics
Build Sammy the robot, then program him with code cards
About $140brand list price View on Amazon
Thames & Kosmos Kids First Robot Engineer
Build 10 candy-factory robots while reading along with a story
About $40brand list price View on Amazon
Thames & Kosmos Kids First Intro to Tools & Building
Real tool skills with a kid-sized hammer, screwdriver and wrench
About $30brand list price View on Amazon
Snap Circuits Beginner SCB-20
First circuits with big snap-together parts and picture instructions
About $35brand list price View on Amazon
SmartMax Start Magnetic Discovery Set
Chunky magnetic bars and balls that show attract and repel
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Deluxe Building Set
Snap gears onto pillars and crank to watch them all turn
About $35brand list price View on Amazon
Educational Insights Design & Drill Activity Center
A real working toy drill for bolt patterns and pictures
About $40brand list price View on Amazon
Learning Resources Primary Science Lab Set
Real-looking lab tools sized for preschool scientists
About $40brand list price View on Amazon
Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. My First Microscope
A real microscope with two big eyepieces made for little kids
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Kidnoculars
Binoculars little kids can actually see through
About $16brand list price View on Amazon
ThinkFun Robot Turtles
A board game where kids write code with cards to reach the jewel
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
LEGO Pokémon SMART Play: Training House with Pikachu (72164)
Pokémon's 30th year meets LEGO's new light-and-sound SMART Brick
About $70brand list price View on Amazon
LEGO Star Wars SMART Play: Throne Room Duel & A-Wing (75427)
Two interactive SMART Bricks bring a Star Wars duel to life
About $160brand list price View on Amazon
LEGO Classic Medium Creative Brick Box (10696)
484 open-ended bricks for kids who'd rather invent than follow
About $35brand list price View on Amazon
LEGO Creator 3 in 1 Space Shuttle (31134)
One small box, three space builds to rebuild all winter
About $10brand list price View on Amazon
MAGNA-TILES Undersea Adventure 58-Piece Set
Magnetic ocean habitats with slides, trapdoors and sea creatures
About $90brand list price View on Amazon
Thames & Kosmos V8 Race Car Engineering Set
Build a motorized race car with a V8, gearbox and suspension
About $40brand list price View on Amazon
Thames & Kosmos SolarFlower: Ruby Ripple
A sun-powered kinetic flower that teaches motors and gears
About $25brand list price View on Amazon
CATAN Junior
Kid-sized Catan: trade resources and build pirate lairs
About $40brand list price View on Amazon
CATAN On The Road Card Game
Catan's build-and-trade strategy in a 120-card travel deck
About $10brand list price View on Amazon
ThinkFun Rush Hour Traffic Jam Logic Game
Slide the cars to free the red one: logic in a small box
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
Gamewright Sushi Go! Card Game
A quick card-drafting game with sneaky math inside
About $17brand list price View on Amazon
VTech KidiZoom PrintCam
A kids' camera that prints photos instantly in black and white
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
Klutz LEGO Chain Reactions
Build 10 LEGO machines and link them into chain reactions
About $20brand list price View on Amazon
Klutz LEGO Make Your Own Movie
A starter kit for LEGO stop-motion filmmaking
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
SCRIB3D Advanced 3D Printing Pen
Draw in 3D with melted PLA, from stencils to freehand sculpture
About $60brand list price View on Amazon
Barbie Sparkle Marble Run Building Set
Design glittery marble runs and test drops, twists and races
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
ThinkFun Circuit Maze
A logic puzzle where the reward is lighting up a real circuit
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
Educational Insights Kanoodle
A pocket-size puzzle with 200 ways to stretch the brain
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
SmartGames IQ Puzzler Pro
120 travel-ready puzzles that move from flat to 3D
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
National Geographic Mega Crystal Growing Kit
Grow eight colorful crystals and display them on a light-up stand
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
National Geographic Mega Gemstone Dig Kit
Chip away at a dig brick to uncover 15 real gemstones
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
National Geographic Earth Science Kit
Volcanoes, crystals, gem digs and tornadoes in one box
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
National Geographic Science Magic Kit
Chemistry experiments disguised as magic tricks
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
Osmo Genius Kit for iPad
Hands-on pieces that talk to an iPad game
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
Wonder Workshop Dash Robot
A responsive robot that grows from drag-and-drop to real coding
About $190brand list price View on Amazon
Thames & Kosmos Remote Control Machines
Build motorized vehicles and drive them with an infrared remote
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
4M KidzRobotix Tin Can Robot
Turn an empty soda can into a walking robot
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
Sphero Mini Coding Robot Ball
A ping-pong-ball-sized robot that turns code into motion
About $50brand list price View on Amazon
Sphero BOLT+ Coding Robot
A sensor-packed robot ball with a screen kids can program
About $200brand list price View on Amazon
Makeblock mBot Robot Kit
The classic build-and-code robot for first-time roboticists
About $70brand list price View on Amazon
Snap Circuits Pro SC-500 Electronics Kit
The bigger Snap Circuits set for kids who want 500+ projects
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
LEGO Technic Aston Martin Valkyrie (42208)
A hypercar build with moving pistons and a real differential
About $65brand list price View on Amazon
LEGO Technic Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader (42209)
Articulated steering and a working shovel in 973 pieces
About $120brand list price View on Amazon
Thames & Kosmos Electricity & Magnetism Science Kit
62 experiments that make magnetic fields and current visible
About $60brand list price View on Amazon
National Geographic Dual LED Student Microscope Kit
Look at slides and solid objects with top and bottom lights
About $80brand list price View on Amazon
Educational Insights GeoSafari Omega 60mm Refractor Telescope
A real 60mm refractor sized for young stargazers
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
Klutz LEGO Gear Bots
Crank-powered LEGO creatures that teach cams and cranks
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
4M KidzRobotix Motorized Robot Hand
A motor-driven robot hand that taps and drums its fingers
Typical price Under $25 View on Amazon
National Geographic Hobby Rock Tumbler Kit
Turn rough stones into polished gems over a few weeks
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
UGEARS STEM Lab Gearbox Model Kit
Build a working wooden model of a car's manual gearbox
Typical price $25 – $50 View on Amazon
ELEGOO UNO R3 Super Starter Kit
A budget Arduino-style kit packed with sensors and motors
About $45brand list price View on Amazon
Arduino Plug and Make Kit
Snap-together Arduino projects with no breadboard or soldering
About $70brand list price View on Amazon
Makeblock mBot Ultimate 10-in-1 Robot Kit
Metal robot kit that rebuilds into ten machines, including an arm
About $400brand list price View on Amazon
ELEGOO Smart Robot Car Kit V4 with Camera
Build and code a camera robot car that follows lines and dodges walls
About $75brand list price View on Amazon
SunFounder PiCar-X AI Robot Car Kit
Turn a Raspberry Pi into a camera robot that sees and listens
About $90brand list price View on Amazon
Sphero RVR+ Programmable Robot
A rugged, ready-to-drive robot rover that teens can hack
About $340brand list price View on Amazon
Thames & Kosmos Bionic Robotic Arm
A cable-driven robot arm that moves like a tentacle, no batteries
About $55brand list price View on Amazon
Hakko FX-888DX Digital Soldering Station
A real workbench soldering station a teen won't outgrow
About $120brand list price View on Amazon
3Doodler Create+ 3D Printing Pen (Juku Edition)
Draw in the air and sketch 3D models by hand
Typical price $50 – $100 View on Amazon
Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ Refractor Telescope
A straightforward first telescope for the Moon and planets
About $200brand list price View on Amazon
LEGO Technic McLaren P1 (42172)
A 1:8 hypercar with a working V8 and 7-speed gearbox
About $450brand list price View on Amazon
LEGO Icons NASA Artemis Space Launch System (10341)
Build NASA's Moon rocket in 3,601 pieces
About $260brand list price View on Amazon
Python for Kids, 2nd Edition
Learn real Python 3 by building two complete games
About $35brand list price View on Amazon
A Beginner's Guide to Circuits
Nine quick breadboard builds with no soldering required
About $20brand list price View on Amazon
Learn Robotics with Raspberry Pi
Build a two-wheeled robot and teach it to see and avoid things
About $25brand list price View on Amazon
Make: Electronics: Learning by Discovery
The hands-on electronics primer many makers learned from
About $30brand list price View on Amazon
Arduino Workshop, 2nd Edition
65 Arduino projects to try after the starter kit runs out
About $40brand list price View on Amazon