Holiday Shopping List: Top 10 STEM Gifts for Kids

STEM Gifts Your Kids Will LOVE

Before I get started, I wanted to briefly let you know that I have not been compensated in any way by any of the makers of these toys/apps/etc. These toys are ones we have owned, used, loved, or had recommended to us over the years, and I thought it might be useful to have them all linked up in one place.

Disclaimer: I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you downloads of value and information about educational resources. The links below are Amazon affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.



1. For the S in STEM, Magnet Toys!
Magformers,

Tegu Blocks,

and Magna-Tiles!

We own the first two, and have played with Magna-tiles at many friends' houses. These offer amazing open ended play, the ability to explore structure, and are fun for everyone. I highly recommend getting either some of the unusual shapes or the wheels if you get Magformers, but definitely snag the wheels for Tegu - they really add to the imaginative play aspect. Another good option is this Magnet Lab kit from Learning Resources - it's one we have and love:

2. A magnifying glass! Simple, but a must have for all of your science explorations! Whether you are heading to the beach, a park, or your backyard, get a close up look of your findings:

For older kids, look into a microscope.


3. Follow a life cycle with Insect Lore's butterfly garden or other life cycle kits.

For the T in STEM, try these apps and programs:
4. DragonBox Alegbra 12+ and DragonBox Algebra 5+

5. Raspberry Pi for your budding software engineers!

While you're at it, go visit Scratch Programming (free, and you don't need Raspberry Pi to get started learning Scratch)!

For the E in STEM, check out
6. Snap Circuits

The Jr set is linked above, but I highly recommend getting the SC-500 or SC-750 version if your wallet agrees. This is definitely one of my favorite purchases for kids. I wish every kid could have a set of Snap Circuits!

7. Simple Machines 

We don't have this one but it looks great! I have a simple machines set that is no longer made but if I didn't, this would definitely be on my list.

For the M in STEM you can't beat math games and toys.
8. Our favorite math game is Sumoku (app also available), and for super mathy kids you'll want to grab Equate (if they don't already love math, Equate might make them hate it more. It can be pretty intense). For lower elementary, I recommend Zeus on the Loose or Rat-a-Tat-Cat, and for all ages, Set is a fabulous game!

 9. For toys, play money is far and away my top recommendation for hands-on math.

10. Building Toys! I'm lumping all of these together into number 10. Choose a building set that will work best for the kids on your list. Some kids love one but not another. Try LEGOs, Zometool, ZOOB, and Wedgits.

I hope you enjoyed this list! Have a favorite STEM gift I didn't mention? List it in the comments; I'd love to hear about it.

Pin these STEM gift ideas for later:

Find even MORE STEM gifts ideas with an engineering twist:

 or STEM tech gifts: