Toy Insider Senior Ali Mierzejewski stopped by CBS Cleveland to talk about the season’s smartest STEM toys. For more on the products featured in this segment, check out the notes below, and for a full rundown of the best toys of the year, check out our complete holiday toy guide.
VEX Robotics Zip Flyer (HEXBUG)
- Ready? Set. Liftoff! Introducing the VEX Robotics Zip Flyer, a re-envisioned take on airborne adventures.
- This robotic gadget is capable of shooting propellers over 30 feet in the air.
- Pull the zip-cord stick to release. The faster you pull, the higher up they’ll fly.
- The excitement doesn’t stop there. The VEX Robotics Zip Flyer can be built for both handheld and tabletop action; two ways to build, two ways to launch.
- Includes three propeller flyers.
- Challenge yourself and your friends; how far can you make your propellers travel?
- Ages: 14+
- MSRP: $12.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys R Us
Barbie STEM Kit (Thames & Kosmos)
- Thames & Kosmos partnered with Mattel to provide the Barbie STEM Kit.
- This S.T.E.A.M. project kit includes plastic building pieces and science experiment materials, as well as a Barbie doll, to create a complete experience based on the concept “You Dream It… You Make It!”
- From math and science to biology and chemistry, each kit is built to “Barbie-Scale” and meant to be compatible with the original Barbie Dreamhouse.
- Ages: 4 to 8
- MSRP: $29.95
- The BOSEbuild Speaker Cube doesn’t just look and sound great, it’s easy to build, too. Its instructions immediately gets kids involved in the sounds of science, from how a simple magnet and coil make sound, to how a speaker reproduces music.
- Assistance with building is delivered through a free companion app that combines step-by-step guidance with hands-on interaction, confirming success along the way until the Speaker Cube is fully assembled.
- Kids can add colored LED lights and silhouette covers, for a completely customized speaker.
- The Speaker Cube pairs to any smartphone or tablet, so streaming your favorite music just got much easier.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $149.00
- Available: Amazon, build.bose.com
