Skip to main content

8 High-Tech Toys for STEM-Savvy Kids


There’s so much more to digital toys than your typical video games and computer programs. These eight innovative picks bring STEAM education to life through coding, robotics, animation, and more—plus they’re a lot of fun. 
By Liz Schnabolk from Family Fun


1 of 8                                              Jimu Robot Meebot Kit

Not your average toy! Made by high-end robotics company Ubtech, Jimu uses cutting-edge technology and six impressive robotic motors to follow your child’s commands. Kids start by building the bot with help from the iOS app’s 3-D, animated instructions. Then they can make him wave, walk, dance, and more with three levels of play that help them advance from learning basic coding concepts to writing their own programs. Ages 8 and up, $130.
2of 8
High Tech Toys Think And Learn Code A Pillar

Think & Learn Code-A-Pillar

Preschoolers can learn early programming skills while this wiggly worm works his way across the floor! As little ones rearrange the pieces in the Think & Learn Code-A-Pillar's tail to create new “codes” for him to follow, they practice sequencing, problem solving, and critical thinking along the way. How many tries does it take to get him around that sofa? Or through a maze of blocks? Ages 3 to 6, $50.
3of 8
High Tech Toys Rule Your Room Kit

Rule Your Room Kit

Watch as your child transforms the kit’s buzzer, dimmer, power board, and more into eight cool inventions that can make her room the envy of the house. Budding engineers can spook out friends with posters that suddenly jump off the wall, or create an alarm that sounds if anyone tries to swipe their piggy bank (think twice, little bro!). All the pieces in the Rule Your Room Kit are reusable, so kids can invent and reinvent to their imagination’s content. Ages 8 and up, $100.
4of 8
High Tech Toys Nabi Se

Nabi Se

Why hand over your tablet all the time when the kids can use one built just for them? This 7-inch gadget known as Nabi Se, the latest from Mattel’s tech line, comes loaded with more than 100 apps. We especially love their Wings Learning System, which offers educational games that adapt to your child’s abilities and also align with Common Core standards. And kids will love the Dream Pro Studio for making movies and writing stories. Extra bonuses: parental controls to help you better manage screen time and a really durable construction. Ages 6 and up, $80.
5of 8
High Tech Toys Bloxels

Bloxels

Storytelling skills go digital with this custom video-game-making set. Just slot the colored cubes into a grid to create different characters and scenes, take a photo using the camera function in the toy’s iOS or Android app, and—voilà!—a game is born. With Bloxels, players can then get to work running, jumping, and exploring in a virtual world of their imagination. Ages 8 and up, $50.
6of 8
High Tech Toys Sphero Sprk Plus

Sphero Sprk+

Just roll with it: This robotic ball zips across the floor showing off all its skills. Not only can little programmers use the toy’s app to drive it around and change the color, they can also access a step-by-step system to “teach” the Sphero SPRK+ to navigate a maze, dance to a specific beat, and more. The iOS and Android app also includes tons of user-generated projects that inspire kids to use the robot for everything from art projects (program it to roll in paint and then draw different objects) to building toys (it makes a great wheel for a car). Ages 8 and up, $130.
7of 8
High Tech Toys Osmo Genius Kit
Aaron Dyer

Osmo Genius Kit

Pop an iPad into the toy’s base and add the reflector camera up top. With the Osmo Genius Kit, players then choose one of four app-based games that will teach about tangrams, words, physics, and drawing. We especially love that the tangrams and word games are played through interaction with real-world pieces—seamlessly combining classic activities with a high-tech learning device! (And the fact that it’s beautifully designed doesn’t hurt, either.) Ages 5 and up, $80.
8of 8
High Tech Toys Stikbot Studio Pro
Aaron Dyer

Stikbot Studio Pro

Kids are sure to stick with this! In the Stikbot Studio Pro, figures with suction-cupped feet and hands can go anywhere they like, thanks to an included green-screen stage and a special stop-motion animation app, which is available on both Android and iOS. Moviemakers upload their own photos or use included backdrops, add extra props and toys from home, then stick their bots anywhere the story takes them. The app snaps individual photos and stitches them together into a video. Once they add music and sound effects, the mini films might even be Sundance-worthy! Ages 4 and up, $20.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Children's Book Award Winners!

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: “Last Stop on Market Street ,” written by Matt de la Peña, is the 2016 Newbery Medal winner. Three Newbery Honor Books also were named:   “The War that Saved My Life ,” written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley  “ Roller Girl,” written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson Readers  “ Echo,” written by Pam Muñoz Ryan Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: “Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear,” illustrated by Sophie Blackall, is the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner. Four Caldecott Honor Books also were named:  “ Trombone Shorty,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Troy Andrews “ Waiting,” illustrated and written by Kevin Henkes  “ Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement ,” illustrated by Ekua Holmes, written by Carole Boston Weatherford  “ Last Stop on Marke...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Kiddle? A safe search engine for kids!

How is Kiddle designed specifically for kids? 1) Safe search: sites appearing in Kiddle search results satisfy family friendly requirements, as they filter sites with explicit or deceptive content. 2) Kids-oriented results: the boxes below illustrate how Kiddle returns results for each query (in the order shown): Safe sites and pages written specifically for kids. Handpicked and checked by Kiddle editors. Typically, results 1-3.   Safe, trusted sites that are not written specifically for kids, but have content written in a simple way, easy for kids to understand. Handpicked and checked by Kiddle editors. Typically, results 4-7.   Safe, famous sites that are written for adults, providing expert content, but are harder for kids to understand. Filtered by Google safe search. Typically, results 8 onwards. 2) Big thumbnails: most Kiddle search results are illustrated with big thumbnails, which makes it easier to scan the results, differentiate between them...
Post a Comment
Read more

Poll Reveals All-Time Best Board Books

An online poll of readers produced the 100 best board books according to School Library Journal. You can find them all at the following address: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/03/28/announcing-the-top-100-board-books-poll/ Here are the very best of the best, a Top 10 of titles that are likely very familiar to every parent, educator, and child. 10. Moo, baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton 9.    The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton 8.    The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats 7.    Freight Train by Donald Crews 6.    Good Night Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann 5.    Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell 4.    Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See ? by Bill Martin, Jr. 3.    Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton 2.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 1.  Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown We have copies of all these titles, located in the Children's Playroom. My favorite is Good Night ...
Post a Comment
Read more