21 Most Genius Tech Toys of 2018 for Kids (And Adults)

Aspiring engineers won’t be able to get enough of these tech toys – from creating a car using electronic building blocks to coding a robotic doll, they’ll be having too much fun to realize that they’re also developing an understanding of math and science that will support their learning in school.

Nintendo Labo Variety Kit

Don’t be fooled when you open the box to find cardboard sheets inside – this variety kit comes to life through Nintendo Switch technology as kids can build, play and discover 5 different projects, including 2 Toy-Con cars and a Toy-Con piano. They can even create their own designs using the digital building blocks.

$34.99

Nintendo Switch

Kids can play their favorite games at home or on-the-go with the Nintendo Switch joy-con in neon blue and red. Get the family together and connect the system to the TV to play, or remove this tech toy from the dock to keep kids quiet on long car journeys as they play in hand-held mode.

Prices Vary

Kano Harry Potter Coding Kit

If your kids are waiting for their letter from Hogwarts, they can practice spells and also learn how to code with this wand from Kano. Your little wizards can build a wand that responds to their movements, whilst getting to grips with basic coding by completing 70 different challenges, such as making a feather fly.

$99.95

Osmo Hot Wheels MindRacers Game

As the cars fly down the ramp in to play, the race is on – after launching their cars over the starting line, the action takes place on an iPad screen and kids must throw down game tokens to control their cars in order to secure their spot on the podium.

Prices Vary

WowWee CHiP Robot Toy Dog

If your kids have been begging you for a puppy, take CHiP home – this intelligent, obedient canine will listen to your commands and you won’t have to clean up his mess. With advanced artificial intelligence, he greets, follows and responds to his owner and plays fetch just like a real puppy.

Prices Vary

littleBits Avengers Hero Inventor Kit

Avengers assemble! Kids can create their own super hero identity with this kit from littleBits. After downloading the Avengers Hero Inventor app, youngsters can design and control their high-tech hero gear, customizing a costume to wear as they come to the rescue as their alter-ego.

$51.48

Meccano-Erector M.A.X Robotic Interactive Toy with AI

Meccano has changed since you were a kid… M.A.X. is a robot made up of 332 parts that young engineers can build to be their personal assistant; the more they speak to him, the more he learns and he can even remember dates. He can also be reassembled in to other robotics toys.

Prices Vary

UBTECH JIMU Robot BuzzBot & MuttBot Kit

These interactive robots from UBTECH include 264 snap-together parts, so you don’t have to go searching for your screwdriver to put them together. Kids can use the Blockly coding platform or create custom commands through the PRP function to program BuzzBot and MuttBot so they can play and learn together.

$179.99

SpyX Night Mission Goggles

Even if they haven’t been eating their carrots, kids can see in the dark with these SpyX night vision goggles – when they put them on they’ll be able to see up to 25 feet, so they can carry out secret missions under the cover of darkness.

$24.95

BB-8 App-Enabled Droid by Sphero with Trainer

Star Wars fans will go mad for this BB-8 droid. As Poe Dameron’s astromech droid, it holds valuable information, and kids can control the app-enabled droid using their smartphone or tablet. They can also explore the Raddus through holograms, bringing the galaxy that’s far, far away closer to home.

Prices Vary

littleBits Rule Your Room Kit

Kids can bring any object in their bedroom to life with this Rule Your Room Kit from littleBits. By connecting electronic building blocks to whatever they can get their hands on, they can control the objects using the toolbox, minimizing time spent on their smartphone or tablet.

Prices Vary

Jun Doll with Siggy

Girls can learn how to code in a way that’s more accessible (and fun) than sitting in front of a screen with this Siggy Robot doll – by connecting to the Sugar Coded app, kids can send their doll on missions on her hot pink scooter, whilst improving their knowledge of basic coding.

$45.00

Wonder Workshop Dash

Meet Dash – a fun-loving robot who responds to your voice, dances, and sings – he’s charged and ready to play with straight out of the box. But this clever tech toy can also help kids to learn code through hundreds of puzzles and challenges, which they can access through the free mobile app.

$149.95

da Vinci miniMaker 3D Printer

Kids can bring their imaginary friend to life with this 3D printer – with the miniMaker, whatever they model on screen using the CAD and slicing software will be printed right in front of their eyes from PLA, a natural material that’s extracted from sugar-producing crops.

Prices Vary

VTech Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Smartwatch

The force (of time-keeping at least) will be with them when kids put on this Stormtrooper watch. They can choose from a digital or an analog display for their touch-screen watch, which also includes a built-in camera, so they can capture photos of their inter-galactic adventures.

$169.99

Altair AA108 Camera Drone Quadcopter

With this drone, kids can take awesome aerial videos from the skies and watch them back on the FlyingSee app; they can even put on VR goggles to experience the footage in virtual reality mode. The drone comes fully assembled, so it’s ready for take-off straight out of the box.

$129.80

SmartLab Toys ReCon Programmable Rover

Rover is a helpful robot who doesn’t mind mucking in – he can deliver a treat to a pet, carry a soda, or guard the kids’ bedroom. What’s more, kids don’t even need a computer to be able to program him, as they learn basic math and problem-solving to get him moving.

Prices Vary

Fire HD 10 Kids Edition Tablet

For the clumsiest youngsters, this Fire HD 10 Kids edition has a child-proof case, along with a 2-year guarantee. The tablet also comes with a year’s free subscription to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited with access to over 15,000 books, movies and educational apps at the touch of a button.

Prices Vary

Ozobot Evo Starter Pack

Youngsters can learn to code with the help of their friend Evo – the clever robot responds to the colored OzoCode kids have drawn using the Ozobot Evo app. They can even send and receive messages and Ozojis (emoticons that Evo acts out) to their pals through the app on their smartphone or tablet.

Prices Vary

OWI Hydraulic Arm Edge Kit

Can you believe this robotic arm is powered only by water? Youngsters can command the hydraulic arm to pick up objects in their bedroom (or you can use it to pick up the TV remote) using 6 different movements; as well as being fun, it’ll help to support their STEM learning in school.

$49.99

AOKON Walkie Talkie Watches with Flashlight

Keep in touch with the kids wherever they’ve run off to with these walkie talkies – whether you’re camping in the woods or they’re playing outdoors in the backyard, you can stay connected within 150 meters. Each handset includes a watch, compass and torch to make sure your little explorers are kitted out.

Prices Vary

3 Diy Tech Activities For Kids

Diy Smart Phone Projector

When you buy little ones a toy, more often than not they’d rather play with the box it came in. Check out this post to find out how to transform a cardboard box in to a DIY smartphone projector, so kids can watch their favorite videos, magnified.

Diy Scribble Bot

Scribble bots are not only mesmerizing to watch, they also make a fun, challenging project for kids. Have a look at this article to see how to put together a DIY scribble bot using a plastic cup, a motor, a battery pack and markers, and then watch as it gets to work creating a masterpiece.

Diy Scrub Brush Robot

Making a robot at home sounds like fun, but it must be a lot of work, right? Wrong. This DIY scrub brush robot is one of the simplest projects for kids who are in to engineering – with just a scrub brush and a battery-powered motor, they’ll be recreating the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.