16 Toys That’ll Boost Kid’s
Knowledge, Understanding,
and Interest in STEM
T
— by Kimberly Blaker
oday, it’s more crucial than
ever for boys and girls alike
to develop a keen interest in
science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM). That’s because
the pace of scientific and technological
advancement over the coming decades is
expected to continue climbing at an ex-
ponential rate. As a result, there will be
continued growth in STEM fields com-
bined with a decline in blue collar jobs
among other professions. So tomorrow’s
young adults must be prepared for this
drastically different job market. Add to
this, STEM offers great value by helping
kids develop critical thinking and prob-
lem solving skills — competencies that
go a long way in any career and in life.
So how do you help your child de-
velop an appreciation for these subjects
and boost their knowledge and under-
standing in these areas? Play is often the
best way for children to learn where they
can apply concepts and skills. Fortunate-
ly, there are numerous games, toys, and
kits on the market that make learning
STEM lots of fun.
Toys That
Teach Stem
Qurious Space This 4-in-1 family
card game teaches kids about the solar
system, Milky Way galaxy, and more.
Kids will learn simple strategy and cre-
28 WNY Family December 2018
ative problem solving skills while devel-
oping vocabulary and enhancing their
memory. (Ages 3+)
Snap Circuits More than 100
projects will keep kids busy and learn-
ing with these electronics discovery kits.
Snap Circuit kits have won numerous
awards and come in several variations.
Contents of various kits include pho-
totransistors, LEDs, resistors, ICs, DC
motors, flying propellers, electromag-
nets, lamps, switches, and much more.
Projects kids can make include an AM
radio, burglar alarm, doorbell, flying
saucer, and voice recorder, to name a
few. (For ages 7+)
ThinkFun Gravity Maze
Kids will use spatial reasoning skills
to arrange towers that create a path for
a marble to go from its start position to
its target tower. It includes 60 challenge
cards ranging from beginner to expert.
(Ages 8+)
Magformers These magnetic
geometric construction kits come in a
variety of choices. Kids can build 3D
structures such as houses, pyramids, and
balls out of colorful magnetic triangles,
diamonds, trapezoids, and squares.
(Ages 3+)
Magical Microbes Mud-
dWatt STEM Kit: Clean En-
ergy from Mud! Kids will love
conducting experiments with soil by
adding ingredients from the fridge to
build a living fuel cell. A free app will
then allow kids to measure the power
and track microbe growth. (For Ages 8+)
Sequence for Kids In this
strategy-building card and board game,
the goal is to be the first to place 4 chips
in a row. The challenge is to think strate-
gically and finish before their opponent
uses a unicorn card to remove a chip.
(Ages 3-6)
Osmos Genius Kit This kit
boasts 5 games that turn an iPad into a
hands-on learning experience. Osmo,
on the iPad, interacts with every real-
live move. This kit enhances kids’ visual
thinking and creative problem solving
skills and self-expression. (Ages 5-12)
ThinkFun Rush Hour Win-
ner of a national Mensa award, Rush
Hour is a game of logic that sharpens
kids skills in planning and sequential
reasoning. In this traffic gridlock game,
there are 40 challenges from beginner to
expert. The goal is to move cars through
the puzzle until the red car can escape
the traffic jam. (Ages 8+)
IQ Fit This spatial reasoning and
problem solving game boasts 120 chal-
lenges in which kids must fill the board
with the missing 3-D pieces. It’s a com-
pact travel size game and a great value.
(For Ages 6+)