Let Them Learn While They Play! 10 Best STEM Educational Toys That Helps in the Development of Cognitive Senses, Imagination Power, and Creativity of the Kids (2020)

We expect our kids to play with any toy that comes before them. What most of us do not know is that we must provide the ideal toys that can enhance their thinking and reasoning skills, apart from providing emotional development and letting them acquire critical decision-making skills. Kids are known to play with anything in front of them. We, as parents, must provide them with the ideal tools to enhance their cognitive skills, and they continue to learn as they repeatedly play with the toys. In this article, we will take you through some of the STEM toys that could be ideal for children in specific age groups.

When you are searching or STEM toys for your child, you must also search based on the age of your child. Not all games are suitable for all ages. You must always try to understand whether the game is right for the age of your child. If your child is younger, then they may find it difficult to know how to play the game. If your child is above age, they may no longer find it exciting.

When you are in the process of selecting a STEM toy, you must know that they are of several types. The science experiment based toys make your children learn new concepts in science and make them an active user of technology. There are robots based games that can ensure that your kid learns the basics of coding to control the functions of the toy. There are also construction-based toys that help to enhance the cognitive thinking of the children. They have to think logically, and they can acquire decision-making and reasoning skills.

The growing years form the building blocks to improve the intelligence for children. Parents must ensure that their children can learn the nuances of science and technology without making it look like an uphill task. Studies have also shown that toys can take an integral part of learning, and kids who play with these toys develop enhanced cognitive and analytical skills over others. These toys also provide additional fun factor in their lives due to the number of activities involved.

The toys can be fun-filled, but it may be intriguing if the kids are left on their own. Before choosing a toy, parents must ensure that there are colourful manuals that detail the activities associated with each game - the more detailed, the better. The more complex the game, the more is the need to have detailed tutorials.

The STEM toys must be creative as the games have to subtly teach the kids about the various aspects of science and technology while working on their soft skills too. It has to enhance the thought process of the kids of the children as they continue to find the answers to their questions about their surroundings. The more creative the game, the more is the natural learning process to enhance their cognitive reasoning.

If you are looking for educational toys for your kid below five years, then you can try this one. The activity box has more than 50 items that can be played repeatedly. You kid is bound to develop a scientific understanding after playing with these toys. The kids can enjoy while playing with these toys and develop a scientific bent of mind.

There is also a booklet that details how the activities must be performed. It will also help the parents to play with the kids and give adequate time to them. The kids will also develop problem-solving skills that will help them in future. It also helps in the development of imagination power, and creativity of the kids. The activity box contains several sets like balancing forks, rockets, magnetic trackers, air-powered cars, sound copter, etc.

It is available at a heavily discounted price of Rs. 699 on Amazon.

You must ensure your kids are aware of the wild and have a fair amount of knowledge about the animals in the forests. The activity is about the food chain, and the kids can create around 15 different food chains with 25 available blocks. It allows them to segregate the animals as producers and consumers of food.

The blocks are magnetic and can stick to each other and stay like that. The kids can learn about the animals in the water or on land. They also learn about the herbivores and carnivores across the food chain. It helps them to know the food habits of the animals and can segregate the animals based on what they eat.

This activity box is ideal for kids above the age of four. It has a list price of Rs. 450 on Amazon.

The kids love to play with water while parents continue to shout at them. So, here is an activity box that allows them to play with water. This unique kit allows the kids to create six different types of soaps. The protection of the kids are kept in mind, and adequate precautions must be taken. A pair of gloves are also provided with the kit.

The toy kit makes it an exciting environment for the kids who have a first-hand experience about chemistry. The kit is ASTM and EN 71 compliant and ensures that the materials are safe for use by children. It contains several soap moulds, soap bases, droppers, wooden spatulas, etc. while ensuring it will be a fun time for your kids when they play with this activity kit. It is ideal for kids above six years.

It is priced at Rs. 446 on Amazon.

The next entry is about mechanical items, and your kid can have hands-on experience in making toys and understand how they work as well. The box contains a shooter plane along with four target planes. It has a LASER cutting too. The kit provides an active way of making the kids learn about mathematics, engineering, science and technology, etc.

The toy helps the kids to develop cognitive senses along with imagination and creativity. It enhances their hand-eye coordination and motor skills apart from improving their logical reasoning too. The shooter plane has a DIY rubber band enabled shooting mechanism that gradually makes kids understand the underlying mechanism. There are ten bullets apart from a few target planes and a shooting target disc. There is an instruction manual for the kids to understand the process. It is available in packs of 6 and 12.

The kit is available at Rs. 311 on the Fun Vention website.

If you are looking for an intriguing toy for 8 – 12-year-olds, look no further! This electric motors catalyst and robotics kit can be the ideal showstopper. It does not need any mobile app and allows the kids to learn about a bit of programming too. The toy kit has several mini-robots, machines and cars that can allow your kid to build their creations from the wooden frames that are provided.

The DIY kit comes with more than 50 items, and it includes several wooden frames, axles and rubber bands, electric motors and other hardware. It requires using the screwdriver more often and is a better way of learning and keeps the kids away from the television or smartphones. There is a lot of positivity around this DIY kit and allows the kids and the parents to spend quality time with each other. There is open-ended learning for the kids too.

It is available at Rs. 8,619 on Desert Cart.

The toy kits for 8 – 12-year-old children must be interesting enough to keep them busy. This unique games kit requires the kids to build a roller coaster, right from scratch. It involves the kids to work as a construction engineer and build the roller coaster to slide marbles. It enhances the engineering skills of the children.

The kit has a total of 136 parts, and they have to be joined to make the final set. A set of rubber bands hold the set together at places. The assembly and the taking down of the parts are relatively straightforward. There is a booklet that details how the construction must be carried out. It is not messy, and there are no small elements that make a mess of the room. The kit allows children to sharpen their knowledge about momentum transfer, motion and gravity.

It is available at Rs. 661 on Amazon.

We have discussed lots of activities and games based on science, but none on mathematics. This entry is a purely mathematics-oriented game. It is a unique board game where the player rolls the dice, and they have to reach the total score through an array of mathematical functions. The one who can calculate the highest wins the game. The kit is manufactured, ensuring the highest quality of hygiene factors.

The board has the tiles coloured in four colours, blue, red, green and yellow with ten tiles each. Three dice are provided to carry out the game. It will decide the scores for the players. 2 – 4 players can play the board game. It helps the players to learn about strategy making and logical thinking apart from playing around with mathematical functions.

It is priced at Rs. 369 and is available on Amazon.

Electronics engineering is intriguing in itself. You can make your children find an interest in the subject through this unique exploration kit. It is challenging enough for the kids, and the parents can join as well. The kit comes with two booklets that detail the connections that must be done. There are 500 different experiments for the kids with around 76 parts.

There are several exciting experiments like digitally tuned FM radio, digital voice recorder, AC generator, AM radio, whistle switch, etc. There are resistors, snap switches, snap wires along with a 7-segment LED display – all that is required in an electronics assignment. It will help the kids to develop an insight into electronics.

It is available at Rs. 11,499 on Amazon.

Smartivity is a renowned brand who manufacture toys. Their range of STEM toys is ideal for kids across all age groups. Kids can quickly grasp various aspects of science and technology. This exciting toy allows your kid to complete multiple space missions. The player must overcome various obstacles and other junk to finish the task. A dual spool technique controls the spaceship while the kids learn about gravity and space tension.

The player places a marble in the spaceship and has to take it past the mission plate deftly while staying away from the obstacles. The spaceship must reach its destination for the player to win. The children learn about hand to eye coordination and transfer of momentum. The toy has moving parts with real mechanical action to keep the children engrossed. It needs a modular assembly and has instructions for easier understanding.

It is priced at Rs. 759 on Amazon.

If you wish to introduce your children to the basics of coding, then this kit from Makeblock could be your choice. It involves some building techniques too. The players must fold the cardboards to make the various objects as requested. The construction phase needs some spatial and logical reasoning. The children will also use a buzzer, a temperature sensor, LED panel, etc. in the course of their activity.

The players will be required to program the actions needed after going through the instructions provided in the manual. There are over 30 blocks with different functions, and the players can create innovative objects. The players can play it in offline or online mode. In flow-based programming, the kids can get an understanding of Microsoft Cognitive Services and IoT. It allows the kids to build objects using the hardware and smart blocks from the kit.

It is a bit expensive and costs Rs. 9,999 on Amazon.