Do you have a child in your life who loves tinkering and building? Engineering toys develop so many important learning skills and behaviours, including problem solving skills, analytical and critical thinking skills, creativity, intellectual curiosity, flexibility and perseverance – all while your child plays!
And just like our collection of the best building sets and kits for kids, these STEM toys are not just for little kids – there are ideas for preschoolers through to elementary school and even middle grade kids, as well as games for your family game nights. That’s fun for everyone!
24 STEM Engineering Toys for Kid Engineers
Each of the products listed below is linked to Amazon. I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Engineering Toys for Preschool & Kindergarteners
Please be advised: some of these kits contain small pieces and are not suitable for use by very young children without supervision.
Gears! Gears! Gears! Super Building Kit: Builds fine motor skills whilst developing critical thinking skills, while your young engineer will just love connecting the gears to make them all spin!
Kid K’Nex Build a Bunch Kit: Stack, snap, plug… it’s fun to build with Kid K’nex and this creative kit includes inspiration for building 30 cool creatures.
Light Stax Illuminated Blox Mega Set: Build masterpieces like never before with these light up blocks that connect to the battery or USB powered base!
Kids First Robots Engineer Kit: Read the funny story of two inquisitive kids, Ty and Karlie, and build simple, non-motorized models of the robots they construct and fix during their adventure to an automated candy factory!
Dizzy Fun Land Motorised Gears Set: What could be more fun than a handheld motor, a carousel, Ferris wheel, bumper cars, roller coaster, play figures and enough colorful, spinning gears to make everything come to life!
Querceti Tubation Pipeline Building Kit: Create a maze of pipelines with this open ended construction set that includes interlocking tubes and pipes. Extra fun when played with in the bath!
Bristle Blocks: These unique interlocking blocks are simple for small hands to build with and offer endless, creative possibilities.
Magna-Tiles: The all time most popular building toy in our house! Magnetic tiles are easy for children of all ages to use, and they are fabulous to build with.
RELATED: Find building kits for kids of all ages with our collection of 21 Building Sets and Kits for Kids.
Engineering Toys For School Aged Kids
Fat Brain Toys OffBits: The Offbits collection of colorful nuts, bolts, and unique hardware pieces, encourage children to invent, design and construct!
Strawbees Kit: Strawbees is a line of award-winning construction toys that aim to stimulate kids’ imaginations and make STEM learning fun.
Craft-Tactic Inventor’s Box Creative Challenge Craft Kit: This super cool box of fun includes multiple prompts that challenge kids to create unique projects.
4M Magnet Science Kit: This Magnet Science Kit teaches young scientists about the effects of magnetism through a combination of fun science experiments and games.
4M Doodling Robot Kit: A fun project for young science enthusiasts, especially those with an interest in robotics.
Snap Circuits Electronics Kits: Combining building with science, Snap Circuits offer such a wonderful and challenging way to build for older children.
Makeblock Coding Robot Kit: Kids will learn more about electronics, machinery, and robotics components through building with Makeblock kits.
3Doodler 3D Robotics Sets: Kids can create in 3 dimensions with these fun 3Doodler pens and projects.
STEM Games for Family Time
Gravity Maze Puzzle Game: Gravity Maze is a combination logic game, marble run, and STEM toy with 60 challenges.
Melissa & Doug Suspend Game: This exciting balancing game makes a fun game for families.
Dr Eureka’s Speed Logic Game: A great speed logic game, players must race to solve the formula by moving your molecules from tube to tube without touching them or dropping them.
Circuit Maze Board Game: Circuit Maze uses real circuits and pieces to create a fun gameplay and stealthy learning experience.
Books for Builders!
Maker Lab: 28 Super Cool Projects – DK Children
The Big Book of Makerspace Projects: Inspiring Makers to Experiment, Create, and Learn – Colleen Graves
Iggy Peck’s Big Project Book for Amazing Architects – Andrea Beaty
Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book For Bold Engineers – Andrea Beaty
Gizmos & Gadgets: Creating Science Contraptions That Work (& Knowing Why) – Jill Frankel Hauser
The Robot Book: Build & Control 20 Electric Gizmos, Moving Machines, and Hacked Toys – Bobby Mercer
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
Read the comments or scroll down to add your own: