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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Screen-Free STEM Gifts
Coding and engineering do not require a screen. Every toy here works on its own, with no app, tablet or computer, so the learning happens with hands, eyes and conversation.
The shortlist
If you only read one thing.
Our three favorites from this guide. The full list follows below.
- No. 01
Magna-Tiles Classic 100-Piece Set
“Best for kids who love building towers, houses and garages.”
About $120brand list priceView on Amazon - No. 02
SmartGames Camelot Jr.
“Best for kids who enjoy spatial puzzles they can solve on their own.”
About $25brand list priceView on Amazon - No. 03
CrunchLabs by Mark Rober The Crunchinator
“Best for kids who love smashing things and asking why it works.”
About $35brand list priceView on Amazon
73 picks
Products
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
A Beginner's Guide to Circuits
Nine quick breadboard builds with no soldering required
About $20brand 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
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