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.
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!
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!
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Michelle Lee says
The code a mouse game looks like fun! I want to buy that activity for my kids!
Tandi Cortez says
My daughter would LOVE these! The colors are pretty! 🙂
nickie says
My son would love this!
Steve Grant says
All of my children loved lego building sets but these look especially attractive to girls because of their colors.
carrie s says
I have really been focusing our summer on Stem activities. My daughter would love this.
Tram Le says
My niece will be playing with this.
Amy Hall says
They all would-3 boys so far!
Amanda Wood says
oh man, my niece would LOVE these gears!
Melissa Cunningham says
My daughter would have so many hours of fun with ‘this!!!
Mel says
Definitely my little niece-she’s right at that when she’s learning and using her imagination for everything
Carly Daring says
My son loves blocks so I think he would love these too!
beth says
My nieces will play with this!
Stacie Humphrey says
My nephews would love this!
Nancy says
Actually, I think we will all have fun playing with Gears, Gears, Gears!
Alex says
That would be my granddaughter Taylor, who is 6.
Abigail says
My son and daughter would both love playing with this set!
Cindy Peterson says
The cutest Niece in the world would love playing with these STEM toys
Marnie says
The Code and Go Mouse Game is in my son’s classroom and I think it is awesome.
Azeem Isaahaque says
My niece loves it
Kayla Klontz says
Both my son and daughter would enjoy playing with these!
Nicole H says
My 7 year old daughter would just love to play with those Gears!
Nicole Lancaster says
My niece would love playing with Gears, Gears, Gears!
Julie R says
My daughter would play with it!
Lisa L says
My husband and I would love to play with this with our daughter.
Darlene Carbajal says
My niece!
Heather D says
My daughter would love this! Her favorite subject is science and she is always wanting to do experiments and things.
Teresa A Thompson says
I have 5 grandkids that would love this.
Wendy Caddy says
My youngest granddaughters would enjoy playing with this.
Sonya Morris says
My little girl would love playing with this!
Kimmy Ripley says
My Chloe Pearl is fascinated with building things and this would keep her occupied for hours. So neat!
Kristen says
My goddaughter would have fun with this.
Christina London says
My daughter would love it!!
d schmidt says
Both my children would love to play with these.
Cathleen King says
I don’t have kids, but my sister’s former co-worker’s daughter would love them.
Amber Hites says
My son would love them!
Heather Swarthout says
I would play this with my two daughters!
Pauline Milner says
I would absolutely love playing with these gears to create all kinds of wonderful things. I am sure the gears would become a fast favorite. Thanks for the awesome giveaway opportunity.
Jan Hammersmith says
My daughter would love them for her preschool class.
Kortney Lah says
My niece would really love this!
Angela Mason says
NY GRANDSON WOULD BE HAPPY TEACHING HIS LITTLE SISTER WITH THESE, THANK YOU SO VERY KINDLY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND ENJOY YOUR WEEK!
Kathy Persons says
My niece Alysse
Jill Rivera says
I would give the gears to my granddaughter.
Lauren says
My daughter would enjoy playing with these.
Robin Blankenship says
My daughter
Audrey Stewart says
I have 2 nephews who love these kind of toys.
Krystal Dunlap says
I think my twin girls would love playing with this.
Mark Crawford says
All four of my niece’s would have fun playing with this set.
Amber Cheras says
my niece and younger sister would absolutely love this!
Katrina Brockavich says
All of my kids would love playing with these!
Jennifer H. says
My nephews would like this.
John H. says
I think that my nephews would get a kick out of this.
elizabeth miller says
Honestly, this is something both my 3 year old and 12 year old would enjoy.
Kristin C says
My daughter would love this!
Chao Yeh says
My niece would like this.
Lissa Crane says
Both my daughter and son would love would love this! Since they are only a year apart, they are both the perfect age for this and it makes learning fun!
Jeanne Coulombe says
My grandchildren would love to play with these it sure would keep her busy for a little while.
Juanita May says
My great nephew Adiston who is fascinated with anything that moves in any way. He would love this!
Audra says
My daughter would love this
Morrighan Crowe says
My son would love to play with these.
wen budro says
I think that both my kids would love playing with this. They love building things with their imaginations.
courtney hennagir says
My daughter would absolutely love these! I have got to get her a set.
Darlene Owen says
Jake would love gears.
Tasha Wilkerson says
My girls would LOVE this!! They are 7 & 8 and love STEM activities. Thank you for the chance and the awesome review!
Nancy Bowers says
All of my grandkids will love playing with these gears.
LeAnn Harbert says
My granddaughter loves the STEM workshops at her school so she would like this
Jessica says
If I won this would be for my 5 year old and 2 year old to share.
ken ohl says
this would be for my little niece
Amanda Hoffman says
My niece