15 STEM kits for innovative kids of all ages

The sweet fairytale-inspired STEM kits from Lakeshore Learning invites kids ages 3-6 to create a happier ending to a few of their favorite children’s stories. Whether they are building a chair for Goldilocks that won’t break, or a strong house that even the Big Bad Wolf can’t blow down, young children can get a head start in engineering in imaginative ways. 

Just right for the smallest hands, these sensory beads introduce geometric shapes and patterns to little ones in a way that satisfies their sensorial craving.

Your little one can dive right into learning early physics and scientific observation skills with this fun water lab STEM kit. This set elevates your child’s bathtub and water table play in a meaningful way that will make learning at home a part of their routine.

This is the perfect nature-based family STEM kit offering an experience that little ones won’t soon forget. Creating a butterfly habitat and watching the miraculous process of metamorphosis take place, right at home, will help your child gain a deeper understanding of the natural world, and help them to record their observations and make predictions.

Designed for the youngest scientists, this well-stocked lab set from Learning Resources offers a kid-friendly entree into hands-on investigating and experimenting. Each of the included tools are durable and perfectly sized for small hands–without being too toy-like. The included activity cards are practical and easy to pull off with supplies you likely already have around the house and while you’ll definitely have to help now, they’ll be able to tackle on their own in just a couple years!

This comprehensive science kit for children ages 4-12 includes everything you need to conduct over 100 experiments with your child. The step-by-step instructions include photos that make the process easy to understand for young children as they explore creating fizzy reactions, an underwater volcano, growing crystals and more.

Recommended for children ages 4-7, this STEM kit includes durable pieces that can be used to explore concepts like gravity, force, and momentum as they get creative and engineer their own complex ball run. Challenge cards are also included to create a variety of different courses.

Botley, best for ages 5+, is a fun little robot that teaches your child to code, screen-free! This 78-piece kit includes plenty of coding challenges as Botley navigates through obstacles courses and mazes, and even lights up in the dark without requiring a phone or tablet. It’s easy enough for kids to use on their own in most cases by following the coding cards and great for collaborative play as well. 

Designed for children ages 8+, Snap Circuits are electrical engineering kits for kids that provide a unique opportunity to make their own electric-powered toys and tools. From a flying saucer to a voice-controlled lamp, your child can experiment with over 100 designs, making this a STEM kit that can grow along with your child.

Little Passports does an incredible job of aligning STEM learning and adventure with their monthly activity kits. For the 5-8 year old set, check out their Science Junior subscription which allows them to conduct hands-on experiments to deepen their learning about everything from volcanos in Hawaii to Weddell seals in Antarctica. Older kids ages 8+ can tap their more sophisticated skills with the Science Expeditions subscription and create a wide variety of interactive toys like a pinball machine or marble run as well as plenty of messy experiments. There’s even a separate subscription for space-loving kiddos! Prices start at $22 per month.

Crunch Labs was founded by a NASA engineer turned YouTube prankster, and the playful approach the brand takes to engineering is perfect for kids. Created with ages 8-12 in mind, Crunch Labs monthly subscription boxes provide all the materials they’ll need to create a build-it-yourself toy like disc launchers and coin spinners. The parts are super high quality which means there’s no unnecessary frustration and each offer video support that takes learning to a deeper level and makes it easy enough for them to tackle solo. (But there’s a good chance you’ll want to share in the fun.) Prices start at $24.95 per month.

Give your kids the gift of curiosity with KiwiCo’s hands-on STEAM projects, delivered monthly and designed by experts to spark creativity and learning. Each age-appropriate box contains everything needed for engaging projects that teach science, engineering, art, and more through hands-on exploration. Their kits never fail to impress us with their high quality supplies and innovative experiments which include everything from a ball launcher to a motorized marionette.

MEL Science provides parents with the freedom to choose STEM kits from a variety of topics of interest for their child, from coding, to physics, to chemistry. Along with the hands-on materials, your child will also gain access to an interactive mobile app, virtual and augmented reality. They offer options for ages 4-16+.

Creation Crate offers STEM kits for ages 10+, challenging tweens, teens, and even adults! With projects focused on electronics, chemistry, and engineering, this subscription is a great option to keep older kids engaged at home. Each curriculum area has a series of projects that build your child’s skills and knowledge progressively over time, making learning fun and exciting.

Bitsbox is a learning system that teaches real coding skills. Every month, your child will receive a set of app projects that focus on a different computer science concept. The best part is, you don’t have to know anything about coding in order for your child to become an expert through this unique subscription STEM kit.