When you want to encourage your kids' growth mindset, there is no better choice than the a STEM-based learning toy. STEM stands for Science-Technology-Engineering-Math. Â
STEM based toys not only have have imaginative and educational value, but kids will continue to play with them weeks, months–even years–long after the wrapping paper has been recycled. This list of STEM games and toys are gifts that will grow with your child. The best part? We've also done the work to find the perfect book to accompany the gift.
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LEGO Creative Bricks Set. Even if your child has a zillion LEGO sets, they probably still needs one of these basic brick sets. All the special sets have so many tiny and specific pieces, my kids find it hard to build anything from their imagination without these basic bricks. We actually added two of these sets to our collection so the kids could engineer whatever they wanted. The LEGO Adventure Book, Vol. 1: Cars, Castles, Dinosaurs & More! includes step by step instructions for lots of ideas to inspire kids.
MORE: Books to inspire inventors and engineers
Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes. We've tried loads of paper airplane tutorials, but Klutz was the absolute best. The paper is good quality, the instructions are clear, and there are great extensions and ideas for exploring the engineering and flying of paper airplanes. Kids will enjoy reading The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont and learning about the first pilot to lift off and land a completely self-propelled plane.
PicassoTiles® 100 piece set Magnet Building Tiles are nearly identical to MagnaTiles, but less expensive. Every parent I have ever talked to has said that colorful magnet tiles are one of their kids very favorite toys and they have played with them for years. Pair a set of magnet tiles with If I Built a House, a picture book about a kid who dreams up an elaborative, inventive house.
Our family had years of enjoyment with our subscriptions to the KiwiCo. family of activity kids. Your curious child will love the glorious goodness that is in the  monthly subscription box, Tinker Crate. Each month, you receive a box that has everything you need to construct a cool project. We've made motors, planetariums, gravity games and more. Honestly, a gift that lasts all year long is the best kind and 3, 6 or 12 month subscriptions are available. For those in between days, get the kids a copy of Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes: Unforgettable Experiments That Make Science Fun by our favorite go-to science guy, Steve Spangler.
Robot Turtles Game is big news in the board game world. It's been featured on major news sites and was the most backed board game in Kickstarter history. Since being picked up by ThinkFun, the price has become affordable and it's now a top selling game. Robot Turtles teaches young children about basic programming without ever using an "on button".  Since this game is best for preschoolers through 2nd grade, pair it with the picture book, Boy and Bot, about the friendship between a boy and his robot, and how they learn to "fix" each other.
MORE: Gifts for kids who want to learn coding
Snap Circuits SC-300 Physics Kit is a must-have set for every child. We have gotten so much use out of ours. We got it several years ago for my older son, and when his younger brother was older he started using it, too. Inspire your kids with The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, the true story of how a boy brought electricity to his village in Malawi.
Gravity Maze. This is one of our favorite single player logic games. Using challenge cards (there are 40!), players work to construct interlocking mazes to direct a ball to the endpoint. Gravity by Jason Chin is an amazingly beautiful book that will have kids eager to explore the force that keeps us grounded and wonder what would happen without it.
MORE: Best single player logic games for kids
The Inventor's Box: Creative Challenges is chock full of stuff for kids to–you guess it–invent stuff! Pair it with Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor, about a 19th century girl who started inventing things at the tender age of 12.
MindWare KEVA Contraptions are super cool sets encourage kids to put their engineering skills to work building chutes, funnels, curves and tracks for ball runs. The New Way Things Work is a book that will grow with your child and spark them to investigate how machines are put together as they work on building their own!
Qwirkle Board Game is one of our family favorites. I featured it in our game of the month series. It teaches logic, patterning, spatial awareness and strategy, all skills which are important for math. It's also a MENSA select game so you can feel super smart while playing it! Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature will make the perfect STEM pairing book because it teaches about mathematical patterns and is appropriate for a wide range of ages. It also has gorgeous photos.
MORE: Math gifts for kids, even those who think they don't like math!
Sherry Berrett says
How timely! I was trying to decide about tinker crates last week, and then read your post. My sons and I were watching Rube Goldberg machine videos on youtube yesterday, and the Keva Contraptions were recommended, so I was looking into those (vs a Thames and Kosmo robot kit). It's like you're my fairy-gift mother. We actually already bought the gravity maze.
Thanks for your wonderful posts. I'm always finding your ideas and suggestions helpful.
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thanks for your comment, Sherry. I am really excited to play Gravity Maze and our newest Kiwi Crate arrives on Saturday. I'm so excited to see what's inside!
Julie says
Great post and suggestions. I love the books with the toy idea. We are a house of three boys, 6, 4, and 1 so we really aprreciate all your ideas. We have two sets of magna tiles from Santa and they are one of the best toys we have ever purchased um I mean Santa has delivered. I just bought the circuits for my oldest while they were on sale. Super excited about that one. Now if I could just get grandparents to read your blog.
I just read a great early chapter book called Digby O Day. Boys loved it. It brought the same silly delight that the Mercy Watson books do and looks like it will be a series.
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thanks for your comment, Julie and for the book recommendation. I've not read it so I'll have to look for it, especially if it's silly! ... and I totally know about getting the grandparents on the same page!
thebookmommy says
I'm so excited to have discovered your blog, as you and I seem to have very similar taste in books. 🙂 Has your older son gotten his hands on Jon Scieszka's new Frank Einstein series (the first book came out this fall)? My seven year old LOVED hearing it read aloud, although a lot of the science was admittedly over his head (didn't stop him from talking like a robot for weeks...). A brilliant new take on the make-science-cool trend in books right now. I am THRILLED about your insight into the Kiwi Crates, because my big goal for this holiday is to try to find gifts for the kiddos that are more experiential. I'm sold! Do you think a seven year old could handle the Tinker one, or should I stick to the basic Kiwi subscription? Thanks for all the great information.
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thank you so much for your kind words! With a seven year old you would probably have to be more involved in helping them put together the Tinker Crate project, but I think if your child is really interested in STEM type projects they could handle the Tinker Crate. You can do a month to month subscription, so that if it wasn't a good fit, you could cancel after the first month and switch to Kiwi Crate. I hope that helps!
Julie Kirkwood says
Erica, I love this list! Love that you included "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind". My son and I got to meet the author. We heard him speak to a standing room only crowd. When he was done talking, he took questions from all the kids in the audience. I highly recommend the book he wrote for adults about his experiences.
Erica MomandKiddo says
It's such an inspiring story!
growingbookbybook says
Super list! We just picked up Qwirkle at a yard sale!
Rebecca Jones (@booklongenough) says
I love this! You've listed several of my favorite children's books, including Boy + Bot and Gravity! Plus Qwirkle is seriously the best game ever. My 9 year old and I love playing it together! Shared on all my networks!
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thank you so much!!
Darshana says
This is great Erica! Funny I was thinking of doing a similar pairing where I featured Rosie Revere Engineer and a GoldieBlox set. Unfortunately I didn't get around to it. Nice graphic too. Happy Holidays!
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thanks Darshana! I love Rose Revere! I considered Goldie Blox for the list, but then I discovered Roominate and fell in love. 🙂
Jessica says
Love this! Got a few great Christmas gift ideas. Have to save this for the future when my son gets a little older but there were a bunch I am going to get for his age now.
Erica MomandKiddo says
That's great! I'm glad the list was helpful!