They say it’s all fun and games until the program goes buggy! Kids today can learn to code, and develop critical thinking skills to debug their own programs! This selection of games, toys, and activities focuses on developing STEM/STEAM skills and learning the fundamentals of robotics, electronics, and coding!
Wonder Workshop Dash Robot
Kids love robots, and this robot loves to teach kids coding! Dash is compatible with iOS and Android, so any tablet or smartphone will have youngsters programming loads of fun playtime adventures. What they won’t realize is that they’re actually learning how to code! This ain’t your grandpa’s robot! It’s COOL!
$149.95
Let's Start Coding Kit: Coding and Circuit Kit
Computer programming has come a long way from BASIC! Let’s Start Coding offers a hands-on coding and circuit kit to help kids learn coding fundamentals with 60+ fun projects! Software is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Chromebook, so you’re ready to rock right out of the box! STEM training is fun!
Prices Vary
Snap Circuits Arcade Electronics Discovery Kit
While there’s no doubt that STEM learning prepares today’s youth for tomorrow’s challenges, no one said it had to be boring! Snap Circuits certainly doesn’t think so, and the Arcade Electronics Discovery Kit offers them the opportunity to complete over 200 projects from the 30 Snap modules! Coding has never been so cool!
$64.95
LightUp Tesla Kit
If they can imagine it, they can build it! The Light-Up Tesla Kit has magnetic components to build innumerable circuits, then program them via Bluetooth connection on your iPad! Take them apart, and build a new one! Youngsters learn problem-solving, innovation, and coding all in one fun STEM-friendly kit!
$99.95
Anki Cozmo
They say great things come in small packages, and Cozmo is certainly proof of that! Small, but mighty, Cozmo the robot not only teaches coding to kids, but he learns! Facial recognition, interactive power cubes, and free downloadable app make this STEM-forward toy not only fun but fascinating!
Prices Vary
Bloxels Build Your Own Video Game
How many times have your kids exclaimed they “beat the game” within days of buying it? Kids are faster, smarter, and more tech-savvy than we were. Now with Bloxels, they can build their OWN game, and when the challenge is met, build another one! Fun entertainment and they’re learning to code!
$42.99
Snap Circuits 3D Illumination Electronics Discovery Kit
Not another hum-drum toy here! Choose the Snap Circuits Illumination Electronics Discovery Kit and prepare to be amazed! STEM coding toys make for curious children, who will not be satisfied with toys that don’t spark their imaginations! This kit has all the components for any number of light combinations for advanced playtime fun!
$53.99
Makeblock mBot Arduino
If they build it, they will learn coding, design, and electronics! The Makeblock mBot kit contains parts to build a fun robot! Using Scratch 2.0, kids program the robot for oodles of fun! The components are compatible with the Makeblock platform as well as many LEGO parts for unlimited expansion possibilities!
$79.99
Code Master Programming Logic Game
Code Master is a single-player board game to learn STEM coding skills offline! Kids need time away from the screen, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to stop having fun! Code Master is a neat way to keep mental gears in motion. With sixty challenging levels, it’s bound to captivate their curiosity!
$15.74
Osmo Coding Jam Game
You know that feeling when your jam comes on? Osmo Coding Jam now gives kids a way to code their own jam! STEAM-centric game provides coding blocks to bring music and technology together on your iPad or iPhone (Osmo game base required)! Life moves fast, so learning has to keep up!
Prices Vary
ThinkFun Robot Turtles Board Game
Robot Turtles! Can you think of anything more fun in a board game? ThinkFun agrees, and presents a fabulous game designed to teach kids as young as 4 the fundamentals of coding! The two- to five-player format (up to four turtles and Turtle Master) makes it an exciting adventure for the whole family!
$34.50
RoboticsU Ultimate Custom Self Driving Robots Vehicle Kit
Hands-on is hands-down the most fun way to learn! RoboticsU offers a vehicle-building kit designed to build self-driven robotic vehicles! Learn robotics and programming without any prior experience, then go wild with the games and activities you code! Multiple projects keep the fun going, and the STEM skills growing!
Prices Vary
Code Car Toy
What’s so cool about Code Car? Connect it to your computer with the included USB, download the free software, follow the reference cards, and voilà! You’re actually writing code! The car is the coolest part because the code you just wrote turns on the lights, sound effects, and WOW factor!
Prices Vary
Base Kit 2.0 from Let's Start Coding
Let’s Start Coding base kit provides all the basic components for eager young minds to fire up their PC, MAC, or ChromeBook, and start scripting code! You’ll get over twenty projects, and handy reference cards help teach syntax and commands. Then it’s up to you to see what else you can program!
Prices Vary
Thames & Kosmos Code Gamer Coding Workshop and Game
Video games are fun — we know that! Now, there’s a video game that’s so STEM-savvy, the player builds the controller and programs the game while learning the Arduino platform! Using your iOS or Android device, you create the game, develop the levels, and accept the challenge to write your own programs.
$79.95
Piper Computer Kit with Minecraft Raspberry Pi edition
Kids have fun with toys they make themselves: In generations past, kids had loads of fun with a stick and hoop! Today, with the Piper computer kit (Minecraft Raspberry Pi edition), your kids will build computers, write code, and solve problems in an imaginary world while learning STEM skills for tomorrow’s reality!
Prices Vary
Snapino Making Coding a Snap
Computers aren’t going to go away anytime soon, and kids will need to understand their function in ways most adults can’t imagine! Snapino is a valid introduction to serious coding using Snap circuits and Arduino compatible components! Master the twenty projects included, then discover what else you can do with this STEM coding toy.
Prices Vary
Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-Pillar
Fisher-Price has long been revered for making the best learning toys for younger children, and the Think & Learn Code-a-pillar proves it! Easy to connect segments teach kids as young as 3 the fundamentals of coding! The STEM-friendly caterpillar goes together in a snap and rearranges commands for the next programming adventure!
Prices Vary
Makeblock DIY Starter Robot Kit
Is it a tank? Is it a car? Is it a robot? Yes! The Makeblock robot kit is so versatile and much more than the sum of its parts! Youngsters on a STEM track will learn coding fundamentals and robotics! IR remote control keeps the fun going long after the build!
Prices Vary
littleBits Electronics Arduino Coding Kit
What can you do with eight modules from littleBits Electronics, including the Arduino-at-heart module? How about programming and playing Pong? Or a DIY Etch-a-Sketch? With magnetic snap-together modules, you focus on coding instead of breadboarding electronics. Hundreds of amazing sketches are waiting within the Arduino community! Get started today!
Prices Vary
Coding Click-Bot Push Button Programming Robot
Click-Bot may be the most fun a kid can have while learning simple coding. The integrated circuit board makes assembly simple; imagination makes playtime challenging! Let them design obstacles for Click-Bot to navigate, then employ problem-solving with easy-to-use push-button programming on board! Get creative and accessorize Click-Bot for more fun while stimulating STEM skills!
Prices Vary
Snap Circuits Lights Electronics Discovery Kit
Kids have questions about everything! “Why?” is their mantra! Snap Circuits Light is an excellent hands-on STEM coding toy for them to discover answers to some of those questions! Like, “why does the light come on?” and “how does it work?” Snap-together components and more than 150 projects keep their hands and inquiring minds busy!
$78.91
SmartGurlz With Jun Doll
Who said robotics have to be — well, robotic! No clunky, clanking robot toys here! SmartGurlz dolls and Siggy robots are fashion-forward as well as STEM-friendly! The downloadable SugarCoded app lets you code and control your Siggy from your tablet or smartphone with easy-to-use Google Blockly commands! Who knew STEM coding toys could be so cool?
$45.00
8 DIY Coding Activity Ideas
Coding Game Improving Kids Executive Functions
Coding isn’t just hands on the keyboard: The thought-processing skills that make coding make sense are essential to successful coding. Here’s a fun coding game that teaches executive function, if-then logic, and prepares the thought process for writing code! Easy to play at home or the classroom, with one or more players!
Lego Computer Coding Stem For Kids
Preparing youngsters to learn coding can be as simple as playing with their favorite things, like LEGO bricks and bits! You can access LEGO’s online coding game, or create your own challenges! Developing STEM skills while they’re young will make transitioning to school and advanced coding as easy as 1-2-3!
We’re Going On A Bear Hunt Algorithm
Introducing coding concepts doesn’t have to be a rigorous, computer-based ordeal! Little minds are eager to grasp the logic and develop STEM skills, so it’s up to us to make it fun! Using a favorite story, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, turns out to be a fabulous age-appropriate vehicle for understanding algorithms!
Coding A Lego Maze
Think about coding as simple words rather than “commands” and it’s easy to translate code into a fun game for younger kids! Build a LEGO maze, then let them arrange printed strips to guide a figure safely through! It’s fun, it stimulates STEM skills, and it makes learning to code child’s play!
If-then Backyard Coding Game For Kids
In our day, we didn’t have STEM focus. Kids today need to start using computers and develop related skills early! But they’re still kids and need to play. This ingenious If-Then Backyard Coding Game incorporates fresh air and exercise with if-then logic, that is, the fundamentals of coding!
Coding Game for Critical Thinking Skills
When you hear the phrase “critical thinking,” do you think about computer coding? Probably so, but how do you develop that particular skill set? This game incorporates a whimsical story into a game chock-full of coding! Learning to think in the abstract and stimulating STEM skills doesn’t have to be boring!
Code Activity For Kids: Make A Spy Decoder
Stimulating little minds and developing logical thinking doesn’t have to be complex, or expensive. You don’t even need a computer! This fun idea to make a spy decoder tickles the neurons as your youngsters join the ranks of surreptitious spies sending secret sentences into spy society! At least until supper time!
Star Wars: Building a Galaxy With Code
Does Jabba the Hutt know JavaScript? You can use JavaScript to code a galaxy a la “Star Wars” using drag-and-drop technology in several computer languages! It’s easy, it’s fun, and most of all, it’s stimulating STEM skills! Part of the Hour of Code initiative, this great interactive game is a marvelous learning experience!
(You may also like: 31 STEM Building Toys to Fuel Their Minds)
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