“Science is fun.
Science is curiosity.”
~ astronaut Sally Ride
Regular readers know that I primarily recommend STEM activities with low cost materials.
But maybe you actually want to spend some money on a really good STEM gift for a kiddo in your life. Something that’s going to ignite a kid's curiosity and keep them engaged for a good long while. Well then this STEM gift guide is for you!
Scroll down for STEM board games, building toys, books, and more! (Just a reminder - I am never paid to mention any of these resources; there are no affiliate links.)
STEM Books Gift Guide
I know - you're thinking no kid wants a science book as a gift. That's like gifting a kid socks, right? But imagine a kid's face when they tear off the gift wrap and see this cover:
by Kari Lavelle
I mean, what am I going to tell you about this book that the title doesn't already say? Truly every kid from age 2 to age 10 will get a laugh out of this one. Let's be real, I'm a full on grown up and I get a kick out of this one too.
Aaand I just found out there’s a sequel! Butt or Face - Revenge of the Butts!
by Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz
What kind of bonkerball facts are we talking about? Facts like - Why in the wow is there poop on the moon? And how in the wow is a banana a berry?! This book is especially for fans of the Wow in the World kids podcast, but the humor has broad appeal for everyone.
If you want more there's also a sequel, and other Wow in the World books with a similar sense of humor but dialed in on topics like space, animals, and the human body.
STEM Building Toys Gift Guide
Magnet Tiles
In my house, we have a LOT of magnet tiles. Like, a lot. We started with a set of 100. Three years later we bought 100 more, and my kids were so happy because now they could build even bigger castles and towers and spaceships!
We also have some specialty magnet tiles like curved ramps and gears and windows, but honestly nothing gets played with as much as the standard squares and triangles! We also have a small set of Magformers, but they’re trickier for the preschoolers and kindergarteners to build with.
This is important though - try to get a set with many different types of triangles for some deep hands-on geometry play. Different triangles give you more angle options for much more interesting constructions.
Run out of ideas for what to build? The internet is full of magnet tile building ideas to break a creative block!
Marble Run
There is just something so satisfying about building a marble run and then letting your marbles fly through it. This toy is a classic for a reason.
For some hands on physics, look for pieces that have short ramps and long ramps, jump-off, and other fun pieces where kids can experiment with how friction, gravity, and obstacles work together to speed a marble up or slow it down. It really is a hands-on physics teaching tool! There’s hands-on geometry lessons as well, in learning to connect pieces of different lengths and heights.
For older kids who have outgrown their simple plastic marble runs, there are some variations like the ThinkFun gravity maze that I’m putting on my kid’s holiday wishlist.
For kids who would love a really complicated marble run, you can do some pretty amazing things with the magnetic cannon, trampoline, and other pieces of a Gravitrax set.
Pattern blocks
Pattern blocks are another great gift for geometry play. For younger kids, pattern blocks that they can match onto drawings is a great starter gift. If they’re ready for some geometry logic puzzles, all of my kids loved the Mighty Mind puzzle set. And for older kids, this set from Math For Love looks amazing for freeform building! I’m putting it on my 8 year old’s wishlist now.
STEM Card Games Gift Guide
Take simple card games like War, and level it up with opportunities to practice counting and number sense! That’s Tiny Polka Dots for you.
Each card has between 1-10 dots. Some cards arrange the dots in a ten-frame, reinforcing kindergarten concepts about number pairs that add to ten. Some cards arrange the dots haphazardly for a counting challenge.
I especially love these cards for the preschool set who are learning to count, and the kindergarteners learning to add. There are higher level puzzles and logic activities that an 8 year old can do with these cards as well.
This game says it’s for Ages 8 and up, but I would say it’s perfect for ages 5 and up. Players take turns drawing cards, hoping for a spell card or king card that will help you wake the sleeping queens. But if you have a bunch of number cards, you can trade them in for new cards by making a simple equation out of your numbers. (For example, if you have a 1, 2, and 3 in your hand, you can make the equation 1+2 = 3.) A fun way to practice addition up to 10!
Players take turns adding their number card to the center pile, keeping track of the total sum. If you made the center pile’s total sum add up to a multiple of 10, you get to steal the Zeus statue. Whoever has Zeus when the center pile reaches 100, wins! A fun way to practice addition up to 100!
For me, this game brings back lasting memories of college game nights. So I was so excited when my kids got really into this game too. You might not see any number cards, but believe me there’s deep math in the logic behind this game. It’s rated for ages 6 and up!
STEM Board Games and Puzzles Gift Guide
We have a few of SmartGames' preschool puzzles, and they have been well loved in our home! These single player puzzles use logic & spatial awareness. The difficulty builds up slowly, keeping kids engaged by adding just a small extra challenge each step of the way. They also have a free online version of the Little Red Riding Hood game that you can play to get an idea of how the puzzles work.
Many of the preschool games use similar logic, so I would just choose whichever game has a theme (fairy tales, penguins, castles, cars) that matches your kid’s interest.
There’s so many tempting games for older kids here that I haven’t had a chance to try yet. I’m going to have to put some of these on my kids’ wishlists now!
My kids never really got into Rubik’s cubes, but Rubik’s race is much more approachable while still engaging kids’ logic and spatial awareness. You play by sliding the colorful squares around the board trying to match a given pattern. 2 players can play competitively, but my 8 yr old really likes playing it by himself too.
This game almost belongs in the building toy section, because my kids play with these as building blocks more often than they play it as a game. The colorful blocks and unique shapes are just so appealing to build with! And so great for spatial awareness, almost like a 3D Tetris game.
STEM Toy Gift Guide
Microscope or Magnifying glass
Give a kid a microscope, and you’ll find out just how creative they are as they run around the house finding things to put under the microscope. Your t-shirt. Salt. Paper! They all look so different under the microscope!
We bought one years ago that only magnifies 30x, but even that’s enough to open up a whole new world. For young kids who really aren’t ready for even a simple kids microscope, a kids magnifying glass gives them a similar opportunity to explore and let their curiosity guide them!
I won’t recommend our specific microscope because it’s actually pretty fiddly to use, but I just saw this affordable Foldscope was featured on NPR!
Cash Register Calculator
It’s possible my kids are just weird, but we have this IKEA cash register and they honestly play with it as a calculator more than they play with it as a cash register. There’s something appealing about pushing those big buttons!
Even as preschoolers, my kids would push random buttons just trying to get the biggest number they could. When they were first learning to add 1+1 and 2+2, they would experiment with adding really big numbers on the cash register to see what would happen. Same thing happened when they first learned about multiplication. I honestly never expected them to learn anything from a toy cash register, but that just goes to show you how kids can surprise you sometimes.
If you found this gift guide helpful, maybe share it with a friend!
Happy gift giving, everyone! I’ll be back in your inbox in 2025 with more STEM fun. Till then, have fun lighting sparks of curiosity!
Amy Wung Tsao
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