
Ask HN: What are the best STEM toys for kids? - arikr
Especially interested in reviews from parents who&#x27;ve seen kids playing with these various toys and have a sense of which ones are engaging and which aren&#x27;t
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brudgers
My random parenting advice from the internet: if it's not a good toy, it
doesn't matter how STEM focused it is. If it's a good toy, then it won't
hinder a young STEM oriented mind and it will still be a good choice for a
non-STEM oriented mind.

My experience is that most STEM toys are designed to appeal to adult anxiety
over their child 'not getting ahead' more than to appeal to children's play
instinct. Most educational toys sit in closets unloved. Actually that's true
for most toys with an adult agenda.

Part of it is that 'not getting ahead' anxiety encourages buying toys that are
more likely to appeal to an older child than the child for which they are
purchased: A chemistry set for an eight year old is going to work for a one in
a million chemistry prodigy (or maybe as a shared experience for the 1:100,000
kid whose parent is passionate about coplaying with a chemistry set and the
passion extends to the child.

Anyway, some children grow up to be artists, authors, insurance adjusters,
real-estate brokers, etc. They lead happy productive adult lives without
finding much joy in STEM. Like previous generations, a lot of people in STEM
come to find they enjoy it all on their own during adolescence and/or early
adulthood. A few come into the field as full on adults.

Good luck.

~~~
pryelluw
Yeah, it needs to be a toy first. Otherwise it will be boring. Toys are meant
to be fun. Thats why we play with them.

Ive tried different ones and only those that are actually fun and interesting
get used enough to become broken. Then we have more fun fixing them.

Just be open to trying new things and dont force shit on your kids. Sometimes
they just dont care about STEM.

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sheraz

      - legos
      - magnifying glass
      - microscope
      - chemistry set
      - pocket knife
      - big card board boxes
      - bicycle
      - a yard
      - shovel
      - rock tumbler
      - ant farm
      - breadboard for simple circuits
      - a tent and sleeping bag
      - play-do
      - baking bread or making pasta
      - telescope
    

This is where STEM begins.

Edit: added more STEMy things

~~~
peller
Great list. To add to this, basic (de)construction tools:

\- screwdrivers \- hammer \- clamps / workbench with vice \- hand saw \-
rulers / measuring tape \- hand drill (w/ bits) \- random assortment of
screws, nails, bolts & nuts, glue, wood pieces, dowels, string, wheels,
whatever. encourage dumpster diving.

Also, some inspiring literature, like: [https://www.amazon.com/American-Boys-
Handy-Book-Centennial/d...](https://www.amazon.com/American-Boys-Handy-Book-
Centennial/dp/0879234490) and/or [https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-
Conn-Iggulden/dp/...](https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-
Iggulden/dp/0062208977)

Oh, and it helps to have a partner in crime for encouragement,
troubleshooting, etc. (siblings/friends/parents)

These days I'm an engineer, but that's how the passion starts, no doubt about
it.

------
DanBC
Very young children: a set of cheap measuring cups and jugs of various sizes.
You start with "bigger" or "smaller", and work up to estimating how much water
/ sand / salt / etc is in this box, and some mental arithmetic of subtracting
or adding various quantities together.

See also kitchen balance weigh scales with a set of weights.

You can buy good quality magnifiers very cheaply. You'll want to start with a
table loupe style magnifier, and then move on to pocket microscopes.

You can buy Pound o Dice - this is about half a kg of dice of various sizes.
These can be used for various games (Button Men is quick and fun
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_Men](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_Men))
or for probability stuff.

Cuisenaire rods are simple and fun. You can get plastic or wood, and they help
with fractions and arithmetic. Watch out for some of the work books. I'm not
sure learning "green plus blue equals red" is useful.

Laser pens can be used for water-drop microscopy.

Packets of cress, then radishes, then carrots and potatoes and bell peppers
are great.

STEM is everywhere, so really you can build it into any activity. Most
importantly is that the parents give the child time to explore things and to
ask (and answer) questions for themselves. You can find recipes for a bunch of
play-dough like substances, so mixing different batches with different ratios
and asking "What will happen?".

------
zeehr0
I know it's really dangerous but, when I was 3yo, a friend of my father bought
me the most awesome gift I have ever got: a tiny set of tools. Since I was a
really curious kids (about the inner mechanisms of stuff), my toys would
always get broken. With my set (and my father's guidance), I begin to fix
things up. Three broken gi joes and a horse? Praise Quiron, the three-torso
centaur. A broken rc car "engine" is, now, a boat "engine". Today, I'm a
mechatronics engineering intern and really thankful for those - dangerous -
tools I've got.

------
aq3cn
I am against this approach at all cost. You are putting too much pressure on
yourself and will doing the same on your kids (assuming this question isn't
for market survey). Just leave them as they. You already labeled them as STEM
when have no idea what does it even mean. Relax.

You should read biographies like Surely You are joking Mr. Feynman. You will
know how Novel prize physicist are brought up.

Just let your kids be what he wants to be. Give him equal of every world.
Music instrument, base ball bat, lego, Raspberry Pi, Screw Driver, swimming
pool etc. Whatever you can afford. Kids have natural curiosity and they will
play with anything which is around them. I used to play with ants and chase
them wherever they go. I am physicist now, along with my foot in neuroscience
and music.

------
j_s
[http://www.hanselman.com/blog/The2016ChristmasListOfBestSTEM...](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/The2016ChristmasListOfBestSTEMToysForYourLittleNerdsAndNerdettes.aspx)

------
pasbesoin
Legos. (And not just a single, focused kit, in isolation.)

You inevitably start designing/building/designing (a chicken and egg
perspective) your own constructs. You can do it together with others including
peers. And it provides strong stimulation in 3D (and even 4D -- zoom...
crash!) perspective.

------
AstroJetson
Depending on their age and if they are interested in robotics then the VEXIQ
robot stuff. Biggest kit is this [http://www.vexrobotics.com/super-
kit.html](http://www.vexrobotics.com/super-kit.html) with motors and sensors
you can find smaller sets online. Program in C, a version of Scratch or
Python. Built robots are more durable than the Lego versions. Plus there is a
competition around them for elementary and middle school students (ages 8-14).

Otherwise the list by sheraz is pretty good.

------
webmaven
Given all the recommendations for Lego bricks (with which I concur), I thought
this bit of advice might be useful:

Try to stay away from the themed and/or branded sets. They are full of special
parts that exists only to make bricks look like something else, and are not
(generally speaking) particularly useful in any other sense (certainly not for
developing a kid's imagination).

Instead, try to get the large sets of ordinary bricks, and sets with the
special parts that _are_ generally useful. You should start (on Amazon or
other retailers) with searches like _" Lego Classic"_, _" Lego Creative"_, and
_" Lego Education"_.

If they are interested in progressing to the sort of mechanisms the Technic
sets enable, those type of parts can also be found in various _" Lego
Education"_ sets as well as using search phrases like _" Lego Simple
Machines"_, _" Lego Simple Mechanisms"_, _" Lego WeDo"_, and _" Lego
Pneumatics"_ as starting points.

Enjoy!

~~~
Tomte
That used to be the case in the nineties, maybe, but today there are virtually
no special parts that can only serve one purpose (like the one-piece hull of
some ship from years ago).

Creativity isn't solely found in blocky builds. Special pieces are still
mostly an abstracted shape that can be many things.

Still, Lego Creative is fantastic (especially those 3 in 1 sets). Also look
for Lego Technics if the child is a bit older. I loved my pneumatics set back
then.

~~~
webmaven
_> today there are virtually no special parts that can only serve one purpose
(like the one-piece hull of some ship from years ago)._

Not really true. If you look at the Bionicle line, for example, each set is
chock _full_ of custom molded parts. Certainly nothing quite as egregious as a
one-piece spaceship hull (since it is possible to mix and match a bit between
Bionicle sets), but nevertheless not particularly useful if you want to make
anything other than a hybrid Bionicle mash-up.

On the other end of the scale, yes, many current branded sets like 75156 (a
Star Wars Imperial Shuttle) are _technically_ built out of general purpose
pieces, but how useful are those particular parts (eg. the 2x2 left and right
side plates with a 27 degree angle), when trying to build something different?
You need to have parts from _many_ different sets to have a _usefully_ broad
selection.

------
Jun8
Interesting toy to get introduced to Arduino programming:
[https://www.amazon.com/Thames-Kosmos-Workshop-Android-
Compat...](https://www.amazon.com/Thames-Kosmos-Workshop-Android-
Compatible/dp/B01CNT3EGM) using a video game to teach programming. A bit
pricey, though at $135.

On the STEM size I would suggest the following:

* A microscope never gets old, I bought this one ([https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NOU54O](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NOU54O)) and was surprised by its quality at a very low price. _Never_ buy these from ToysRUs or similar store, those are junk. To jumpstart the fun, I suggest you also buy a set of prepared slides, e.g. [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055DZ3EK](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055DZ3EK)

* An adequate spectroscope ([https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B84DGDA](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B84DGDA)) can be bought for under $10! I bought this for my 9 year old and he had a lots of fun with it.

* My son also loved the Zome kit ([https://www.amazon.com/Zometool-Creator-1-Construction-Kit/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Zometool-Creator-1-Construction-Kit/dp/B005C1HCFS)). We had funs discussing how to build a 4-D cube!

* Walkie Talkies: I would have killed for these when I was a kid. I bought this pair ([https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GH7TKVK](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GH7TKVK)) but in this age of iPads and the like didn't really entice my son much. He likes to take them with him when we hike, though.

* Make your own soma set: Using this supercheap set of cubes ([https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007F0UQR0](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007F0UQR0)) and a glue gun.

------
pryelluw
Ive had good success with the boe bot (basic stamp version). Its like the c64
of robotics and comes with a similarly brilliant user manual. Costs about
$150. [https://parallax.com](https://parallax.com)

------
charliepark
It depends on the age you're looking for, but at around ages 6–10 ours enjoyed
Snap Circuits:
[https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CIXVIRQ](https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CIXVIRQ)

------
pdm55
(1) Another vote for Sphero. I bought Sprk+. I like seeing the innards and
doing the simple blocky programming to make it move around the floor. {Hey you
can even look at the C code behind the blocks.)

It needs a mobile phone with Bluetooth. There are some example programs
already written that allow you to get it moving from the get-go.

(2) Has anyone tried Piper Computer Kit? Would like to know pros & cons. I
have never got into minecraft? {Please don't hate me for this.) Is it hard? Am
I just too lazy, or is it that I prefer chess?

I'm a teacher. No kids myself, but I like to try out and introduce STEM toys
to my class.

------
klangdon
A new product that won't be shipping until March is Play Impossible Gameball:
[http://www.playimpossible.com](http://www.playimpossible.com) If you sign up
for the email list you will be given a discount in the first shipment.

My boys (7, 9, and 11 yrs) have access to an early version and play with it
almost daily. It gets them active and has basic math and physics games.

------
FT_intern
This isn't answering your question but I think it is much more important for
the parents and the people around the child to be interested in STEM than to
buy STEM toys.

------
23234242
What age are you referring to? A 10 year old needs something different than a
15 year old or a 3 year old.

For young kids, blocks and just letting kids play and build stuff from
whatever they find outside is great.

For older kids, Scratch and Coderz
([http://gocoderz.com/](http://gocoderz.com/)) are great.

------
kartD
[http://littlebits.cc/](http://littlebits.cc/) is a great start

~~~
salgernon
My 4 year old loves assembling these somewhat randomly (usually while I'm
playing with them.) For her, the most interesting behaviors are when she
seriously stresses a circuit by adding jitter - like forcing a servo to a new
position. She'll sit there and I can tell she's trying to figure out _why_
what she's doing has an effect on an unrelated part of the system.

------
dubya
I'll add Flexeez (US name) or Wammy (European name), a geometric construction
toy originally from Japan, I think. My 10yo figured out all of the Platonic
solids using it, and then moved on to hyperbolic shapes. Also made lots of
hats and belts and bandoliers, etc.

------
Dowwie
Get a foldscope for $20 from their Kickstarter project.
[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/276738145/foldscope-
the...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/276738145/foldscope-the-origami-
paper-microscope)

------
ddmf
My wife is starting a stem group at our local primary school and the kids
(aged 6-11) got most excited about the vinegar in bottle + balloon + baking
soda experiment.

------
hvd
try Sphero, its a fun robot to learn with.

