Learning does not have to stop after kids leave the classroom. Toy Insider Senior Editor Marissa DiBartolo stopped by PIX 11 in New York to show off some great educational toys. For more on the products featured in this segment, check out the product notes below, and be sure to check out our complete holiday gift guide.
- The LeapStart interactive learning systems are designed to help build key skills and challenge kids to get ready for their next step in learning.
- Using the stylus, kids can tap any page to activate audio responses and play activities designed to keep them engaged and coming back for more.
- Each book in the library is packed with over 30 activities. Games, jokes and songs come to life, enticing kids to trace numbers, hunt for letters, compose their own music and so much more.
- Ages 2-7
- MSRP $39.99
- Available: Amazon, Target, Toys R Us, Walmart
Little Scholar Mini (School Zone)
- The Little Scholar Mini is a 7-inch children’s tablet that comes preloaded with over 70 apps, books, games, videos and songs that improve your child’s reading, math and spelling skills.
- The tablet includes Charlie & Company, School Zone’s Intellectual Property video series.
- Ages: 3-7
- MSRP: $129
- Available: Amazon, Toys R Us
Real Cooking Ultimate Baking Starter Set (Skyrocket Toys)
- The Ultimate Baking Starter Set includes real cooking tools and two perfectly proportioned mixes to make eight scrumptious Sprinkle Surprise Cupcakes and eight tasty Tuxedo Cupcakes, complete with edible toppings and decorations.
- The set contains kid-friendly equipment, including two mixing bowls with an interchangeable suction base to keep it stable, a unique egg cracker that allows kids to crack eggs without the mess, and a silicone mini cupcake baking sheet.
- Perfectly-sized cooking utensils include three measuring scoops, one scraper, one whisk, sixteen cupcake liners and four pastry bags with coupler tip to expertly frost cupcakes with a swirl.
- Ages: 6+
- MSRP: $29.99
- Available: Target, Toys R Us
Rubik’s Race (University Games)
- A new, competitive take on the classic logic game, the Rubik’s Cube!
- Shake it – Slide it – Solve it! Be the first to match the pattern on the scrambler and shut the frame!
- More than just a cube – here’s your chance for head to head competition!
- It’s the ultimate 2 player Rubik’s challenge.
- Enhances kids logic skills, spacial reasoning, and problem solving.
- Also encourages friendly competition, confidence, and social skills!
- Ages: 7+
- MSRP: $19.99
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 3 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
- 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.
- The building help 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 more easier.
- Ages: 8+
- MSRP: $149.00
- Available: Amazon, build.bose.com
