Top STEM Toys for At-Home Learning!

Being a former middle and high school science teacher for 8 years before I became a mom,  I’m a huge advocate for having science related toys for my kids to play with.  And now that I’m a mother of two daughters, I’m even more inclined to find STEM toys for girls for my 2 daughters to play with!  My husband is also an engineer, so both of us are fans of science, technology, engineering, or math related toys that are educational and fun.

Covid has brought about a very different school year ahead of us with changes coming at any moment.  While I’m starting my kids off in a face-to-face learning setting in school, our superintendant has told us that we need to be ready for at home learning at any point during the school year.  Today I’m going to share with you five different STEM toys that Learning Resources has for your daughters or grandaughters (or nieces, or students) to play with.

Many moms were recently thrown into the realms of homeschooling and may not feel prepared to teach science or are looking for resources for some great educational tools to help right now.  I hope this list helps!

1.  Gears Gears Gears – This is one of my personal favorite STEM toys for girls.  It is so much fun to build a contraption that is connected and creates motion when you are done.  My pink and purple loving daughter also loves the colors!  See the video below of one contraption my 7 year old built.

Fun, bright colors and easy-to-assemble pieces make these hands-on construction sets a whole new building experience! Explore how gears connect and move together as an important mechanism for engineering.

Completely interchangeable, each of these sets feature optional building ideas while also fostering creative, open-ended play. It’s great when both of my girls work as a team to build something that moves!

Doesn’t she look proud over what she put together?  And unlike other building sets, there aren’t specific blueprints to follow – so kids can use their own imaginations to create designs!

Learning Resources is not limited to just one type of Gears Gears Gears activity – there is also this fun Gears! Gears! Gears!® Movin’ Monkeys™ version!

There’s nothing like monkeying around to get the creativity flowing! In this jungle-themed set, monkeys fly through the palm trees by their tails, then spin, twist and turn.

The colorful set features plastic gears, crank, connectors and base plates for endless building possibilities. 

Kids develop their own “gears jungle” or use the easy-to-follow instructions. 

Includes 136 pieces. 

If you are looking for just a starter set to try – then I recommend the Gears! Gears! Gears!® Castle Gears™ set – this 36 piece building kit allows little engineers to create almost endless combinations of castles that actually move. The gear pieces snap together easily, and the entire set really spins. It helps build STEM and motor skills. Works with all Gears! sets.

2.  Primary Science Deluxe Lab Set –

 Budding scientists will have a blast conducting their own experiments using the Primary Science Deluxe Lab Set. They can follow the step-by-step instructions on the included activity cards and jot down their findings in the write & wipe journal. Stand with adjustable clips measures 13¼”H.  Skill Development: Problem solving, Fine motor skills, Following multi-step directions, Sequential thought, Math concepts, Making predictions, Observation 2 Flasks (round- and flat-bottomed)

The science teacher in me just loves toys like this – the sooner you can get your little one’s hands on a lab set like this, the more successful they will be in their middle and high school science classrooms!

I talk a little bit about the lab sets in this Facebook Live video:

3.  Super Magnet Lab Kit –

Get magnetized! Everyone gets hands-on exploration with this complete 124 piece set! This kit contains everything you need to attract kids to experimentation and creativity with magnets. 

Kids and adults love playing with magnets!  It’s such a cool invisible force that is fascinating and provides for fun experimentation.  We were at a hands-on kids museum recently, and they had this set.  My 4-year-old was content at one of the activity tables for a long time that day learning what objects are magnetic, and which ones are not.

4.  STEM Simple Machine’s Set

Keep it simple with real STEM learning! Discover amazing engineering wonders through scientific exploration with colorful, engaging tools and hands-on activities and experiments. Introduce and explore all 6 simple machines as you make amazing discoveries, design solutions for real-world problems, and conduct your own investigations. Includes a lever board, wedge, pulley with rope and hook, cart with 4 removable wheels, Archimedes screw, 4 barrel weights, and 10 double-sided Activity Cards to build early engineering and problem solving skills. Comprehensive Activity Guide with reproducible materials is also included. Largest piece (cart) measures 5″L x 3½”W.

My mechanical engineer husband loves seeing his little girls learn about simple machines and how you can problem solve with these tools!

5.  Code & Go™ Robot Mouse Activity Set –

 The race is on to build hands-on coding skills! Build your maze, and then use the coding cards to create a step-by-step path for Colby, the Programmable Robot Mouse. Program the sequence of steps, and then watch Colby race to find the cheese! This deluxe set includes 30 double-sided coding cards, 10 double-sided activity cards, cheese wedge, and Activity Guide to provide the perfect hands-on introduction to coding concepts. Create your path with 16 maze grids to create a 20″ x 20″ maze board, 22 maze walls, and 3 tunnels for endless possibilities. Colby lights-up makes sounds, and features 2 speeds along with colorful buttons to match coding cards for easy programming and sequencing. Add multiple players with Jack, the Programmable Robot Mouse (LER 2841), sold separately. Colby measures 4″L and requires 3 AAA batteries (not included). Winner, ASTRA Best Toys for Kids 2016 – Learning Play Category.

This I believe is one cool cutting edge toy that will really help girls learn the skills needed for programming!  Toys like this really can help more girls get into the field of programming and robotics when they are introduced to these concepts at an early age!  This truly is a STEM toy for girls that targets science, technology, engineering and math concepts all in one!

6.  Teaching Cash Register – 

Talking cash register brings money math to life! Students can practice coin identification, addition, subtraction, and place value as they play 4 featured games that increase in difficulty as players advance. Also great for imaginative play and learning basic calculator skills. Cash register features a built in scanner, scale and coin slot. Transactions are rewarded with lights, sounds and voice messages (volume control included).

I love how kids can learn the value of cash using this set with realistic-looking coins!  I also love that there is a volume control on the sounds (for moms like me that really don’t like loud toys!!)  This also works well with a wide variety of ages which I love!