Toy trends of late see parents introducing kids of all ages to STEM-related topics through play. This year, Parentology has been keeping an eye on STEM toys hitting the market, playing with some of them ourselves. Here are our to picks of STEM toys from 2019.
Montessori Subscription Box
Toys for children under the age of three are often lacking in STEM-related learning concepts. This is why Zahra Kassam, a Montessori teacher, founded Monti Kids. The subscription-based Monti Kids delivers STEM-promoting rattles, blocks, stackers and puzzles every three months. The toys are designed to encourage different learning activities so babies and toddlers develop skills in literacy, math, and, yes, curiosity.
FIRST LEGO League Jr. Discovery Edition
LEGO is a classic from a company that continues to develop curiosity in children and challenge them to use their inventiveness and solve problems as they build. For preschoolers up to teens, there’s a LEGO set for every interest from building trains or robots, all the way to creative sets where LEGO supplies the blocks and kids bring their imagination.
LEGO has something new in their lineup this year: FIRST LEGO League Jr. Discovery Edition. The bright and colorful set encourages young children to think while being creative. Not only does LEGO have the power to inspire creativity, their Discovery Challenge (a collaboration with DUPLO) builds excitement every year.
Crayola Color Chemistry Set
Combining creativity with learning and STEM is a great way to inspire children to experiment. Crayola’s Color Chemistry Set is on our list because it lets budding scientists make their own crafts. Reviewed by Wired as a smart STEM toy, children gain confidence when they follow instructions to conduct a variety of different experiments, such as building their own snow globe or making colored snow.
Boolean Box
What girl, or boy, doesn’t want to build their own computer? The Boolean Box makes this possible. A build-it-yourself kit, the Boolean Box gets girls interested in coding and engineering. The kit comes with everything needed from writing code to assembling circuits.
Boolean Box gets high grades from Parentology parent Julie Tolar, “This is a ‘toy’ that offers the technology kids love while challenging them to think and teaching them real skills.”