In today’s installment of Toy Insider and Family Circle magazine’s “25 Days of Toys,”  Toy Insider Senior Editor Marissa DiBartolo and Family Circle’s Social Media Editor Sugey Palomares highlight STEM toys that are educational and fun. For more on the items featured in this segment, check out the product notes below, and for the complete rundown of the best toys of the holiday season, be sure to check our complete Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide.


DESIGN & DRILL MY FIRST WORKBENCH (EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS)

  • Little builders get busy with a workbench and tool set designed just for them!
  • Hammer nails and drill bolts directly into the bench to create colorful patterns for hours of unplugged play.
  • Develops fine motor skills, practices patterning (a key early learning skill) encourages creativity, supports STEM: introduces tools, promotes interest in engineering.
  • Includes workbench with storage drawer, 120 colorful bolts and nails, and guide with 10 patterns.
  • Motorized mini-drill and kid friendly hammer.
  • Requires 3 AAA batteries (not included).
  • Ages: 3-6
  • MSRP: $49.99
  • Available: Amazon

3DOODLER START HEXBUG MAKE YOUR OWN HEXBUG PEN SET & ACTIVITY KIT (3DOODLER)

  • Kids love HEXBUG! Kids love creating with 3Doodler Start! Now kids can make their own eccentric-looking HEXBUG creatures that behave like real bugs.
  • Doodle your bug’s body and legs using the insect themed DoodleMold to create your very own pet insectoid, then let it crawl around to explore its environment, conquer obstacles or race your friends.
  • Part of the 3Doodler Start STEM Series, this set fosters STEM learning by allowing kids to design and experiment with different robotic structures.
  • Ages: 6+
  • MSRP: Pen Set $59.99, Activity Kit MSRP (without pen) $24.99
  • Available: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Michael’s

PEPPER MINT IN THE GREAT TREEHOUSE ENGINEERING ADVENTURE (THAMES & KOSMOS)

  • Immerse yourself in a playful, imaginative world of stories with the new Pepper Mint STEM kit line from Thames & Kosmos! The Pepper Mint line offers experiments and activities that follow the adventures of Pepper Mint, a curious, skillful and creative young engineer.
  • The activities are presented in storybook manuals with beautiful illustrations and step-by-step instructions. As you read the stories of Pepper Mint’s adventures, you build the projects and conduct the experiments that appear.
  • After assembly, the large wooden models of a treehouse and boat double as playsets where kids can continue to act out stories about Pepper Mint with the scale figure included.
  • The two new Pepper Mint sets include Pepper Mint in the Great Treehouse Engineering Adventure and Pepper Mint in the Fantastic Underwater Science Voyage.
  • Ages: 8+
  • MSRP: $39.95
  • Available: Amazon:

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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