STEM toys are great for teaching your kids about basic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, there are so many options that it can make your head spin.
This article will help you find ideal gifts for kids, the best STEM toys that will help develop their creative thinking, motor skills, and more. We have 7 fantastic options, so let’s get to it.
Comparison Chart
Li’l-Gen Dinosaur Toys for Kids – Interactive Dinosaur Sound Book with Realistic Dinosaur Roars – 12 Large Dinosaur Toys (7″) for Kids and Toddlers – Interactive Set of Dinosaur Toys for Kids 3-5
Kids Toys Stem Dinosaur Toy: Take Apart Dinosaur Toys for kids 3-5| Learning Educational Building construction Sets with Electric Drill| Birthday Gifts for Toddlers Boys Girls Age 3 4 5 6 7 8 Year Old
Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! 100-Piece Deluxe Building Set, STEM Construction Toy Set, 100 Pieces, Ages 3+
Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Talking Kids Microscope, Preschool Science Toy, Featuring Bindi Irwin, Gift for Boys & Girls, STEM & Science Toy, Ages 3+
BEST LEARNING Learning Clock – Educational Talking Learn to Tell Time Teaching Light-Up Toy with Quiz and Music Sleep Mode – Toddlers & Kids Ages 3, 4, 5, 6 Years Old Boy and Girl Gift Present
Upgraded Magnetic Blocks Tough Building Tiles STEM Toys for 3+ Year Old Boys and Girls Learning by Playing Games for Toddlers Kids Toys Compatible with Major Brands Building Blocks – Starter Set
Best STEM Toys for 3-Year-Olds: Reviews
Li’l-Gen Dinosaur Toys for Kids
One of our favorite STEM toys is this Li’l-Gen Dinosaur Toy because it will help educate your children about dinosaurs and provides hours of fun. It is highly interactive and allows for great hands-on learning.
Review
This set comes with 12 dinosaurs. The toys alone should stimulate imaginative play with a good bit of creativity. Moreover, the dinosaurs are designed with safe materials and are too large enough to swallow.
The dinosaurs come in various colors, which will also introduce your kids to colors. Moreover, your kids also get a book that features facts about all the included dinosaurs.
Therefore, it will help your kids learn history, biology, evolution, and dinosaurs. As you can see, this toy will introduce your child to various STEM concepts and enhance your child’s basic literacy skills.
You can buy this set with or without the additional activity mat to create a fun, dinosaur-themed play area.
Pros
- Durable
- Safe
- Teaches colors
- Enhances literacy skills
- Teaches about dinosaurs
Cons
- Not ideal for counting or hand-eye coordination
- Doesn’t teach problem-solving skills
STEM Dinosaur Toy
Here we have another toy about dinosaurs, but this one is about building them, not learning about their evolution and history. Building sets are always fun to play with.
Review
This set enables your children to build three dinosaurs: a triceratops, a velociraptor, and a T-Rex. It will help your kids learn about dinosaurs, but that’s not the main point.
Your kids can use the included battery-powered drill and the screwdrivers to assemble the different dinosaurs.
This will teach your children to work with their hands and improve their manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Assembling the various components required to build these dinosaurs stimulates problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
Moreover, because all the dinosaurs are different colors, it will also introduce them to colors. Construction toys are great for developing spatial awareness.
Your kids can assemble the dinosaurs and then play with them. Moreover, the dinosaurs and tools are made with durable components that are non-toxic and safe for kids of all ages.
Pros
- Durable components
- Safe
- Good for teaching colors
- Teaches basic construction skills and spatial awareness
- Teaches problem-solving and manual dexterity
Cons
Smaller components can be lost
Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears!
This is an excellent STEM toy if you want to teach your children about engineering, construction, and basic building skills.
Review
This set includes 100 pieces, mainly various gears that can lock together to create different shapes and constructions. There are support beams that these gears can be attached to create a construction frame.
Because your kids must work with their hands, they’ll learn basic construction and spatial awareness skills. Moreover, building different shapes will improve manual dexterity and fine motor skills.
Furthermore, these gears come in different colors, so it’s also going to help teach kids about colors. Keep in mind that these gears move, so it will introduce your kids to other STEM concepts, such as physics.
The connected gears will move when one gear moves, making this toy educational, interactive, and fun. When it comes to developing fine motor and problem-solving skills, and more, this is a fantastic toy. In addition, all components are made with safe plastic, and the pieces are too large to swallow.
Pros
- Great for cognitive development
- Ideal for developing fine motor skills and manual dexterity
- Good for problem-solving
- Introduces kids to physics and engineering
- Good for learning counting, sorting, and colors
Cons
Easy to lose pieces
Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Talking Kids Microscope
If you have a young scientist or biologist, this microscope is another excellent option. As far as science kits go, this is a great one.
Review
This is a small children’s microscope that actually functions. It’s not a fully functional professional microscope, but it works well enough for the intended purposes.
The set comes with various slides, including animals, seeds, plants, and other natural objects that can be examined under a microscope.
There are two modes to this microscope, as it is electronic. It has a fact mode that teaches your kids simple facts about the slides they are looking at, and there is also a quiz mode that will quiz your child about the slides. In addition, this toy functions in English, French, Spanish, and German.
This is one of our favorite STEM toys if your child wants to learn about botany, biology, animals, and more. It’s a very simple toy, and also very affordable. However, you need batteries for it. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t appear to be the most durable toy.
Pros
- Ideal for learning about biology
- Introduces your kids to science
- Very educational in nature
- Simple and affordable
Cons
Doesn’t really teach numeracy, literacy, or fine motor skills
BEST LEARNING Learning Clock
This STEM toy will help teach your children how to read the clock and tell time. It’s a simple yet essential academic concept for your kids to know.
Review
This electronic clock has various functions. It will help teach your kids about numbers, reading a clock, logical thinking, concentration, memory, and more. Your kids can turn both the minute and the hour hands, and the clock will tell them the time.
Another mode will quiz your kids on various positions on the clock and other concepts. This is one of the best STEM toys for kids regarding counting, time awareness, and reading a clock. However, it will require batteries. The clock is durable plastic, so it can withstand much punishment.
This toy has also won various education awards. Moreover, it has a sleep mode that plays classical music to help your kids sleep and even has a night light.
Pros
- Fun and interactive
- Teaches counting and clock reading
- Various modes
- Durable
Cons
Needs batteries
Upgraded Magnetic Blocks Tough Building Tiles
This is a construction or building toy for both boys and girls. It’s excellent for young engineers to develop spatial awareness and introduce children to science.
Review
This set contains various magnetic blocks that are easily attached to each other. There are a variety of shapes, including rectangles, squares, and triangles. Your child can use them to build anything they can imagine. Therefore, it is an ideal toy for fostering creativity and imagination.
Moreover, because your kids have to work with their hands, this toy is excellent for developing spatial awareness and training fine motor skills and manual dexterity.
At the same time, these magnetic blocks also come in different colors, so your kids will learn about colors and also have to do some counting.
It’s a great toy for helping your child’s mind develop on many different fronts. Furthermore, all magnetic blocks are safe; they are made with durable materials and cannot be swallowed.
Pros
- Durable and safe components
- Teaches shapes, counting, and colors
- Teaches basic construction and spatial awareness
- Develops manual dexterity
- Very affordable
Cons
- Paint wears off
- Pieces are easy to lose
TOP BRIGHT Balance Math Game for Kids
This is another STEM toy to consider if you want to help your children develop their math skills and counting abilities. Math toys like this are educational and allow for rapid brain development.
Review
This STEM toy will have your child weigh different shapes, numbers, and objects against each other. The scale requires your child to balance what is on the left side with what is on the right.
This helps your child learn about weight differences, basic physics, counting, and numbers. It helps develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
It also has different activities designed to help develop your child’s numeracy skills. Moreover, this toy is built of durable and safe materials, with nothing toxic or small enough to swallow.
Furthermore, this toy is very colorful and interactive, so your kids should have plenty of fun playing. However, there are a few small components that are easy to lose. It’s not really a toy that your kids can play with on their own because you’ll have to supervise or act as a teacher to a certain degree.
Pros
- Great for teaching basic numeracy
- Develops hand-eye coordination
- Simple to use
- Durable and safe components
- Affordable
Cons
Some small parts are easy to lose
FAQ
How To Choose The Right STEM Toys For 3-Year Olds
Always pay attention to the age range of the STEM toy. You should also consider the basic concepts you want your kids to learn.
How Do STEM Toys Help a Child’s Development?
These toys are perfect gifts because they help develop spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, problem-solving, basic numeracy, literacy, and more. These interactive toys encourage your kids to use their hands and brains.
Can a Child Be Too Young to Play With STEM Toys?
There are STEM toys designed for all age ranges, so kids are never too young to play with them.
Final Verdict
We think that the STEM Dinosaur Toy is the best on our list for 3-year-olds. It provides hours of fun; it’s interactive, hands-on, and highly educational.