Give the Gift of Education with These STEM Toy and Game Ideas for All Ages
When you think of STEM, you probably recognize that it refers to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Your second though may be that this guide is geared at kids, but that wouldn’t be accurate. Just because something is educational doesn’t mean it needs to be targeted toward school-aged kids. There isn’t an age limit to enjoying a game, puzzle, craft kit or toy that happens to teach you something!
As you go through this list and search for items to purchase for people on your holiday shopping list, remember to be mindful and click through our logo. You’ll find additional details and photos to help you decide if it’s going to be the perfect gift! As a reminder, many of the items will also be participating in our holiday giveaway promotion so check back regularly to see what the latest giveaways are!
Math Wizard: Fantastic Food Truck
Osmo
Part of Osmo’s new award-winning Math Wizard series that allows for fun, self-paced learning at home, Math Wizard and the Fantastic Food Truck focuses on teaching kids geometry through cooking using different shapes. Players become chefs who customize dishes using several available kitchen appliances, while unique customers appear in various stages across Spellbarow Port, each with different food preferences and a variety of exotic dish requests–from pizza to sushi, sandwiches, pastries and more!
Spirograph Animator
PlayMonster
A new spin on the classic Spirograph design set! Create endless spiral art designs and then bring them all to life in amazing, mesmerizing motion with a spin of the animator and! Every design moves in a different way with each of the rotating light effects. The design and animation possibilities are endless! Also works with other Spirograph sets!
Pinxies Undersea Band
Luki Lab
Rock out with the Pinxies Undersea Band! Koral meets new sea creature friends and they put on a rockin’ show under the sea! Of course, the Octopus is playing the drums for the ultimate surround sound. This 150-piece set includes Koral, her friend Jewel, 6 magical creatures, decorative puffy stickers and a show-stopping stage structure.
Snap Circuits MyHome
ELENCO
Your home, your power, know how it works! Learn about circuitry, security systems, dimmer switches, automatic lights, alarms, motion detectors, fan speeds, appliance motors, generators, and much more! Build a house or city tower with real, working, 3-D circuits, just like the ones you use every day. With seven colorful base grids to make your structure your own, learn how electricity travels and powers your home.
Just Add Soap
Griddly Games
Just Add Soap makes science and art at home easy by using supplies you already have. This kit comes loaded with everything you need for at-home science and art experiments, all you need to do is add the missing ingredient. Discover fun clean science, viscosity, and surface tension. Learn about the geometry of bubbles, make your own soap and soap crayons. There are more than 20 different activities in this kit that time will just slip away! Designed for kids ages 8 and up.
Outnumbered
Genius Games
Combine forces to thwart evil in Outnumbered: Improbable Heroes, a math-based cooperative strategy game. Absolute Zero and his minions are loose in Megatropolis, trying to capture the powerful Infinity Generator! Assemble your team and strategically plan out your sequence of attacks together. As waves of Villains advance, you must use math skills and unique Hero Abilities to hit target numbers, repelling your nemesis and his minions. Overcome their counterattacks and impose order over chaos!
Ubongo 3D
KOSMOS
Ubongo is a fast-paced, addictive, and easy-to-learn geometric puzzle game. Players race against the timer and against each other to solve a puzzle of interlocking shapes. The faster you solve the puzzle, the more gems you get. The player with the most valuable gem treasure after nine rounds of solving puzzles wins!
Gujo Adventure Mars Space Explorer
Luki Lab
Gujo Adventure Mar’s Space Explorer – The Space Explorer is the perfect craft to transport important cargo with the included Cargo Pallet or Secure Cargo Transport container, or conduct rescue missions using the included Explorer Harness.
Crack the Code
Indie Boards & Cards
Crack the Code is a limited communication, co-operative puzzle game in which players form a hacker team that tries to build a piece of code before they run out of moves and their program is terminated. Players can see the marbles in front of their teammates, but they cannot see the marbles in front of themselves. Using a series of action cards, they work together to rearrange the marbles to build a certain sequence before they run through the deck.
Dr. Livingston’s Human Anatomy Puzzle
Genius Games
Accurate Medical Science Illustrations – Puzzles feature beautiful medical artwork created by Certified Medical Illustrator, Mesa Schumaker, from Johns Hopkins University.
Larger than Life Real Human Anatomy – All seven puzzles combine to form a 10 ft tall human with scientifically and medically accurate cross-sections of the entire human body. Great educational puzzle for learning anatomy or science of the human body.
Pictwist: National Parks
The OP
Plan, position, and win in this puzzle game of speed and strategy! In PicTwist: National Park, images of America’s greatest treasures are placed upside down, sideways, and out of order. Put your planning skills to the test with Action Cards to race against other players and reconstruct the natural wonders. Be the first one to fix your park photo to win!
If you’re seeking additional gift ideas, we’re here to help connect you with the right items. Check out the other gift guides we’ve already published: Gifts for Younger Kids, Amazing Family Games, Crowd-Pleasing Party Games and Card & Dice Games for the family. Keep an eye out for additional guides including Home & Electronics, Additional Family Games, Games for Teens & Adults, Pop Culture gift ideas and Gifts That Fit Into a Stocking!
In my opinion, the Pictwist: National Parks, the
Spirograph Animato, & the Pinxies Undersea Band! Maybe even the Just Add Soap one. I mean kids like to get messy. I remember many years ago buying a Spirograph game for my kids. They drew many a cool picture! They played with them a lot for a long time at each sitting. They love pretty parks also.
My son would enjoy the human anatomy puzzle!
I like the game Math Wizard: Fantastic Food Truck.
MY GRANDSON WOULD LOVE Dr. Livingston’s Human Anatomy Puzzle AND I LIKE MATH WIZARD: FANTASTIC FOOD TRUCK.
Snap Circuits My Home is one that I haven’t seen before and that I would like to add to our snap circuits collection.
The spirograph animator is a really cool toy.
My kids would really like The “Just Add Soap” kit. They would be absolutely thrilled to receive this as a Christmas Present! They love hands on learning, especially when it is something as creative and interesting as this. I will seriously consider getting this for my kids for Christmas!
Cool games
My niece will enjoy the Pinxies Undersea Band.
My son loves anything to do with STEM
Spirograph Animator would be a fun gift.
spirograph
My children would love the Spirograph.
just add soap look intersting for my granddaughter
Spirograph Animator
I also like the Spirograph Animator.
My favorite is Crack the Code!
I love “Just add soap” What a great idea for a gift!
Just Add Soaps sounds like a fun family experience
Crack the code looks interesting
My nephews would like the Just add soap .
Ubongo 3D
My son would love the spirograph. I used to play that one often when I was a kid. It would be so fun to play it again with him.
I loved the spirograph as a kid and think my grandchildren would too.
I bought the Spirograph Animator & the Scrawl Game. I have received them already.
Thank you for sharing them. I clicked through the Amazon button.
Just Add Soap would be a super hit. Kids…
Most of them are new to me but I am really impressed by Math Wizard.
They all look fun………….Pictwist:National Parks is definitely one I would like to play.
I loved Spirograph as a kid. I learned about the new version, Spirograph Animator from your post.
My granddaughter would love the Snap Circuits MyHome.
My whole family loves the National Parks so I would get someone PicTwist: National Park.
Crack the Code Intrigues me….
Food Truck
Snap Circuits MyHome would be a big hit in our home.
My kids would love Just Add Soap.
Outnumbered and Crack The Code
Crack the Code would be a hit!
My girls would love Pinxies Undersea Band.
i want crack the code game we play a lot of chinese checkers here at my place me n my bf do i think we would love this one with our grandkids that is
spirograph
My favorite is Math Wizard: Fantastic Food Truck
Just Add Soap!
Pictwist: National Parks
I love the Spirograph! I’m 54 and I had this when I was a kid. It helped me be creative. Still a favorite after all this time.
I have taken another look at these games. The games I bought were a big hit. My other granddaughter wants a Spirograph animator now.
My favorite is the Pinxies Undersea Band because I think my daughter would love it.