Top 5 STEM Education Toys for the 2024 Holiday Season (in no particular order)
- Sebastian Muzeja
- Dec 13, 2024
- 3 min read
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The holiday season presents the perfect opportunity to share gifts that are not only fun but also nurture curiosity and problem-solving skills. This year, I've handpicked the top 5 STEM toys that promise to ignite a love for STEM... and that are just super cool! Whether you're a parent, grandparent, or educator, these toys are sure to make this holiday season both educational and memorable.
Strandbeests have captured the imagination of countless people, including original Mythbuster Adam Savage! Theo Jansen's giant wind-powered sculptures have been walking around beaches in the Netherlands since 1990, and this DIY kit brings them to the palm of your hand. Through a painstaking process, Theo calculated the path each of the "feet" of the statue would have to take to create smooth motion. Utterly mesmerizing!
Learn more about these intricate machines in the most recent Veritasium video
There are many kits that introduce kids to robotics and coding, but the TP Bot by Elecfreaks stands out. This cute little robot uses the BBC's micro:bit, a kid-friendly microcontroller (similar to Arduino), as its brain. It features multiple sensors that can be used to create code that reacts to the world around it. It's important to note that the TP Bot is not programmable without the micro:bit, so make sure to get one along with the robot! Linked is what I would recommend: TP Bot, a micro:bit, LEGO-compatible bricks, and servo motors.
We use TP Bot in our programs, and an in-depth review is on the way!
Help our mouse get to its cheese and Introduce computational thinking to kids ages 4+ with this 83-piece set! By using coding cards to create step-by-step instructions, kids learn how to sequence actions logically. As they experiment with different paths and sequences, they will recognize patterns and understand how to replicate successful sequences. When the robot mouse doesn't follow the intended path, kids must debug their programs by identifying and correcting errors.
Learn more about computational thinking in this video from PBS kids below!
Bring stories and pictures to life! Flipbooks are an awesome way for students to learn how our brains turn still images into moving pictures - or movies, as we call them! We will shortly be releasing a parent and educator guide for teaching about persistence of vision (that's the name for what happens in our brain 🧠 and eyeballs 👁👁 to makes movies work).
Andymation is an amazing youtube channel about flipbooks - he even has a spectacular flipbook kit that unfortunately does not arrive before the holidays 🙁
Celebrate the incredible achievements of pioneering women in space exploration with the Women of NASA LEGO Set. This inspiring set features four remarkable figures: astronomer Nancy Grace Roman, computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, astronaut Sally Ride, and astronaut and physicist Mae Jemison. Each character is accompanied by a miniature build that represents their groundbreaking contributions to science and space. Perfect for budding scientists and space enthusiasts, this set not only provides hours of fun but also sparks curiosity and admiration for the trailblazing women who have reached for the stars.
Watch the video below to learn about the women of NASA who aim for the moon today!