Toy Insider Senior Editor Marissa DiBartolo stopped by CBS in San Francisco to show off some great STEM toys that are both fun and educational, as well as some great retro toys that both parents and kids can enjoy. For more on the items featured in this segment, check out the product notes below, and for our complete rundown of the best gifts for the season, check out our Spring and Summer gift guide.


CRAYOLA COLOR CHEMISTRY LAB SET (CRAYOLA)

  • Calling all color-ologists, chroma-chemists and would-be color scientists of all kinds! Crayola Color Chemistry Lab Set is jam-packed with STEAM infused and playful experiments exploring your favorite subject—color!
  • The Color Chemistry Lab Set includes an easy-to-read instruction booklet that’s packed with 50 colorful science activities to try out at home. Enough Crayola materials and supplies to do 15 experiments right out of the box! Fun, educational and creative!
  • Age: 7+
  • Price: $24.99
  • Available: August 18 at Amazon, Target, Walmart, Crayola.com

NICKELODEON SUBSCRIPTION BOX (CULTUREFLY)

  • The Nick box is a Subscription service that will bring some of your most memorable Nickelodeon experiences right to your door!
  • Each box is filled with nostalgic goodies that you will treasure like vinyl toys, plush, apparel, household collectables and much more!
  • Each quarter they bring you a different theme loaded with exclusive items that can only be found at The Nick Box.
  • Their recurring Quarterly plan ships four boxes to you every year (one box every three months). Your payment method will automatically be billed every quarter.
  • Their recurring Annual Plan ships four boxes to you every year (one box every three months). Your payment method will automatically be re-billed after all four boxes ship.
  • MSRP: $45.99-$49.99 per box
  • Available: CultureFly

CLASSIC COLORFORMS PICTURE PANELS PLAY SETS (KAHOOTZ)

  • Kids can mix and match more than 150 Colorforms pieces to create endless settings, then re-stick the shapes to imagine new stories over and over again!
  • Fun re-stickable shapes and pieces make it easy for little fingers to create their own creatures, vehicles, and scenes.
  • Two-in-one double-sided Picture Panels have colorful play scenes on one side and puzzles on the other. Magnetic panels even stick to the refrigerator for added fun. The sturdy storage box doubles as a 3D play tray. Connect and stand the panels to expand the colorful scenes!
  • Titles available now: Animals and Vehicles (sold separately). NEW titles: House, Food, School, and Town.
  • Age: 3+
  • MSRP: $24.99
  • Available: Amazon, specialty toy stores

DROP IT! (THAMES & KOSMOS)

  • This colorful, inventive family game is easy to learn but deceptively mind-boggling! One at a time, each player drops a shape into the vertical game board’s drop zone.
  • Players earn points for the highest level that their shape reaches when it lands and extra points for touching bonus circles.
  • But be careful: Don’t break a landing rule! The shape you dropped is not allowed to touch matching shapes or colors after it lands. If you break a landing rule, you will go away empty-handed.
  • The winner is the player or team with the most points at the end.
  • Family game for 2-4 players.
  • Age: 8+
  • MSRP: $29.95
  • Available: Amazon and specialty

OREGON TRAIL HANDHELD GAME (BASIC FUN!)

  • Learn about the realities of 19th-century pioneer life on the oregon trail – one of the most successful computer games of all time!
  • Choose your profession and your traveling companions, then set out on the trek from Independence, Missouri to Oregon’s Willamette Valley circa 1848.
  • Fill your covered wagon with supplies and prepare to cross rivers and Mountain ranges along the way.
  • Monitor your traveling pace, supplies and the health of your party closely to make sure everyone arrives safely and to avoid the dreaded message “you have died of dysentery.”
  • MSRP: $24.99
  • Available: Target

About the author

Bill Reese

Bill Reese

Bill Reese is Business Operations Manager at Adventure Media & Events, where he's worked since 2014. A former editor at Playbill and graduate of SUNY–Purchase, he spends most weekends rooting for the New York Red Bulls pro soccer team and making subway systems out of Brio trains with his little boy Jonah.

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