16 STEM Toys Your Smarty Pants Kids Will Love in 2025

Pyxel is a great STEM toy that teaches kids to code, no matter their coding level. This cool pet is fun for both beginners and those who already have some coding experience. It has a simple remote control for basic entertainment and block coding for beginners. Level it up and you can use it to learn Python too.

Here's a different twist on the DIY robot. Kids can build anything their young minds can imagine out of plastic with this 3D printing pen. The 3Doodler Start Plus is slim and light, making it easy for little hands to hold. With a 30-minute charge, this pen melts plastic sticks so kids can draw them into any shape, but the nozzle and molten plastic aren't hot, so they won't burn little hands. (I tested it; you can put the tip on your skin and draw on your finger. I didn't mind giving it to my kids.) Draw right on paper or a table and the plastic creation will immediately appear. Comes with 72 strands of filament and an activity guide with 10 new projects.

National Geographic kits are a great way to get kids excited about science. Even if your child isn't totally into science (yet), they'll be impressed with all the varieties of slime and putty in this set, including glow-in-the-dark and bouncy putty and lazy slime.

The kit comes with seven pre-made slimes and putties and all the ingredients so kids can make their own. There's also a study guide, so you can learn all about slime and putty and try some experiments.

This award-winning STEM toy is a step up from your standard marble maze. Not only is it fun, but kids are introduced to mechanics and engineering problem solving. Players can choose from 60 different challenges at different difficulty levels.

This fun and challenging K'nex kit will keep budding engineers busy for hours. The best part? The end result is a massive 3m tall motorized Ferris wheel that will provide even more endless hours of fun. This kit is recommended for ages nine and up, but keep in mind that children on the younger side will probably need adult supervision to help them with the more complex pieces.

Kids who love candy (and who doesn't?) will appreciate this Gummy Candy Lab set. Not only will they learn about different chemical concepts, but they will also learn tasty treats in the process. The kit comes with everything they'll need to make sweets, including plastic mould, carrageenan (natural gelatin), cherry and lemon flavoring and storage bags. Maybe if you're really nice, they'll share.

If you're looking for coding toys, Artie teaches coding line-by-line… by drawing lines on paper. Kids program this expressive bot friend to doodle designs with three color markers placed on the back. There are built-in instructions and an easy-to-follow guide so kids can jump right in after unhooking – and seeing something happen on paper gives instant gratification. He teaches five coding languages: Blockly, Snap!, JavaScript, Python, and C++.

Artie can also sense colors and follow lines and be controlled remotely and has a “rock sensor” to avoid falling off tables.

Circuit Explorer is kind of like Lego, but this STEM skills toy teaches the basics of how a circuit works in programming. Children learn that they need to connect the lines on the side to complete a circuit and make things light up or move. Choose from three different kits featuring rocket ships, Mars rovers and space stations, or mix and match parts to invent your own monster machine. They can even connect with Lego bricks.

There's a whole world of educational Lego out there, and you won't find it in the toy aisle. The Lego Learning System has kits packed with hundreds of bricks and instructions to guide students through several lessons. Each set is intended for children of different ages. These teaching sets are designed for the classroom, but anyone can buy these educational toys directly from Lego for hands-on learning at home. (And there are teacher guides to help parents, too.)

Our favorite is the Spike Essential Learning Kit for grades 1-5, which includes several tech pieces like a light matrix, color sensor, and motor. Kids also use an app to program their creations. With 449 bricks and 40 lessons, the set teaches computational thinking, design engineering, physics and math skills — all told through a story of cute Lego characters. If you want something cheaper without the technical and programming parts, but still want to keep the physics and math lessons, check it out BricQ Motion Essential Kit for $150.

Thames and Cosmos make some of the best DIY engineering toys that are often hard to find. (We see you, Candy claw machine and Mega cyborg arm.) Here's a fun gem we still see widely available: This wacky, waving, inflatable tube man has a fan that lets kids conduct experiments with air pressure, airflow, and aerodynamics. Air basketball. Air cannon. Air pipe man. Good for ages eight and up, and we emphasize the “above” because you want this for your desk. (No judgment here.)

Want something tastier? Draw it in the chocolate kitchen with Skyrocket's Chocolate Pen. The warming tray keeps the chocolate fudgy while your battery-powered pen sucks up the sweet stuff into the cartridge. Draw, eat, repeat. This fun pen comes in a variety of colors, and little hands will find it easy to fill the molds. You can also draw whatever shape you want on wax paper and it will cool in 10 minutes. Sure, this activity is more of a creative art, but there are chemistry lessons you can learn by cooling confections. Technically, that makes desserts a science.

There are easy ways to get kids crafty even if you're not the crafty type. I signed up for a subscription to KiwiCo Clubs, which provides hands-on crate learning activities. Packed with several science and engineering lessons, they come in the mail and cater to different age groups. I am a long time subscriber of my children and love the quality of the items. It's not just about minor tics; there are boxes for all ages, even engineering boxes for 14-18+. Subscriptions start at $24 a month, but you can also shop the KiwiCo store to buy items individually.

You don't need to have programming skills to make your own robot. This is the Kids First Robot Factory by Thames & Kosmos and is good for introducing children to basic engineering concepts. The manual is an illustrated storybook that guides youngsters through the construction of eight different motorized battery-powered bots. With this construction toy, children can also make their own assets, and as they go through the story they learn why each robot moves in its own way.

I am a fan of this geometric brain training toy. There are many spins on the magnetic building block trend, but I personally love Magformers for how it's designed and the options available for different types of box sets so it can be easily expanded for different age ranges. My advice: get a starter with wheels, so the kids can give their creations some speed. Some models can even be controlled with a remote.

This adorable robot for ages 5 and up learns basic programming, has a variety of challenges, and is screen-free without the need for a phone or tablet. Botli can detect objects and navigate around them, follow turn commands, navigate obstacle courses and follow the black line your child designs. With a 46-piece activity set included, there's plenty to keep kids busy.

Even the little ones in your life as young as 18 months old can learn STEM with these magnetic foams. The soft blocks connect effortlessly and rotate so you can build creatures with heads, wings, elbows and other body parts. Don't worry about the blocks getting dirty as they are dishwasher safe and bath safe.

My 2 year old never got tired of them after a year and my 5 year old still plays with them to put together all kinds of vehicles and creatures. It's always a win to get a toy that has a good shelf life, and you can expand this trunk training toy with multiple boxes.