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11 items in this article 5 items on sale! Treasure Digging Kit
11 items in this article 5 items on sale!
The STEM category is only about 20 years old, but educational toys are nothing new. One of the first STEM toys — the acronym stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — has to be the wooden-block play set designed in the 1840s by German educator Friedrich Fröbel, the inventor of the kindergarten. A few decades later, board-game manufacturer Milton Bradley brought the idea to the U.S. and began producing educational wooden blocks for the masses. While they’re still a popular choice, we’ve come a long way; now, there are app-connected coding robots, logic games that involve lasers, and subscription project kits for kids of all ages.
“You’re looking for toys that are going to teach about concepts like numbers, mathematical thinking, and physics and that nurture visual-spatial capacity, talk about cause and effect, and encourage creativity,” says Dr. Laura Phillips, a pediatric neuropsychologist and senior director of the Learning and Development Center at the Child Mind Institute. She also recommends toys that are open-ended, relate to the real world, encourage trial-and-error exploration, and are replayable.
Fossil Finding Kit As there are seemingly endless cool options to choose from, we asked Phillips as well as Dr. Carla Johnson, a professor of science education at NC State University and the president of STEM Innovations, and Yesim Kunter, a play expert and futurist who has done stints at LEGO and Hasbro, for their recommendations on STEM toys to encourage learning in fun and engaging ways.