Best Coding Toys For Tweens
With technical skills in demand more than ever before, gifting kids a great coding toy is a fantastic way to turbo-boost their programming skills and problem-solving capabilities in a fun and engaging way.
In this article, we are going to breakdown the best coding STEM kits for tweens that will enhance their curiosity of how the world works in a way that provides joy for countless hours.
The coding robot is one of the best STEM kits for elementary children. With this kit, parents can introduce their tweens to the exciting and mentally stimulating world of STEM.
But what makes this little robot so special?
Designed specifically for children 6 years and older, the pocket-sized basic robot introduces a fun way to use code to
create maps, mazes, adventures and even stylish robo-dances. Fully assembled and ready-to-go at arrival, it is effortless to set up. Children can get creative as they personalize their own companion with DIY stickers and 2 DIY skins. The product comes with color markers already included. No screens are required to get started.
The downside?
Well, this Robot is an entry-level coding project that provides a basic programming experience for tweens. So it's not the best toy for kids who want to have a more challenging and advanced coding experience. For beginners, the need to repeatedly calibrate the robot can be a tedious, but realistic part of the real coding experience!
Overall, the it is a fantastic and easy-to-use toy for children who are beginning to explore the wonderful world of STEM. But if you child is looking for a more challenging experience, keep on reading.
A fantastic blend between coding and art, the Artie 3000 allows children to design basic as well as more advanced code while producing stunning maps, mazes, pictures and more!
Simply place a pen inside the Artie 3000, and start coding through many different ways; drag & drop, point and click. More advanced coders can use additional coding applications including remote control, Snap!, Blockly, JavaScript and Python. The Artie 3000 comes with a helpful quick start guide and activity cards to help children become familiar with coding fast.
Compared to the first one, the Artie 3000 allows for more complex and long-form coding which means that the
product can continue to be used as the child grows older – continuing to develop their STEM skills for years to come.
On the other hand, there have been some cases where the drag & drop feature can be slow to respond and rather
tedious to use. The Artie 3000 is also more complex and may require more parental guidance.
The Artie 3000 is a fantastic toy that challenges children’s programming skills and capabilities – giving
them a head start in a world where STEM skills are in high demand.
Are your children fed up of basic and boring toys? Then the Remote Control Racer Learning Kit is something to keep an
eye on.
Promoting engineering skills and hand-eye coordination in 7-14 year olds, this toy is sure to upgrade any child’s ability to problem solve with patience and creativity. It is fun, mentally stimulating and challenging at the same time. The kit is made from ultra-sturdy premium quality ABS plastic, fun and safe to play with. With 326 pieces, children are able to create 2 unique and customized racing cars. The grey, blue and yellow cars function on the same frequency, which means that the cars cannot be used in the same race.
One thing to keep in mind when playing with this - the pieces are small and easy to lose, but it can double as a good training for tweens to strengthen their organization skills.
Get ready to have the most intense toy car races imaginable with friends and family. This Remote Control Racer Learning Kit is one of the best STEM kits for elementary children. Just make sure to keep all the pieces together.
Manufactured by the king of kid’s toys, LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox introduces kids to the exciting and wacky side of
coding. When I first saw this product, I felt like my 8 year old self again – mind-blown by the idea of how cool it must be to build and code incredibly fun and complex robots.
With a remarkable 847 LEGO pieces, your tweens are let loose to build 5 amazing multifunctional models (‘Vernie the
Robot’ being my favorite by far)! All the necessary and simple instructions for building the robots are included in the free LEGO Boost app.
The toolbox is wonderful for team-building as friends and family can work together to make the ambitious and creative
robots from scratch – providing hours of fun. The LEGO Boost app is easy to understand, allowing kids to give a variety of commands to move, perform actions and dance.
This ambitious toolbox does come with a couple of potential issues. First, it is totally dependent on the app to function, so a tablet or cellphone is required. Second, there are a significant amount of pieces. Many of them are extremely small and very easy to lose. Again, this is a good opportunity to train the child for that important organisation skills.
This fun toy brings together engineering and coding skills all in one kit. It’s also compatible with regular Lego pieces, massively expands the possibilities for what can be built.
The Snap Circuits Kit is my personal favorite. It has over 75 different parts to build 500 fascinating projects, e.g. visual displays, music alarms and controlling lights. It comes with helpful color illustrated manuals to help you get started. Projects progressively become more complex to keep tweens challenged, engaged and learning for hours and hours.
This kit provides plenty of hands-on experience. Your tweens are sure to develop a good understanding of electric circuits in a safe environment.
This kit does include some high level programming languages and can be confusing for someone starting out. So this is more suitable for advanced learning. But overall, this is a great STEM kit to invest in. My child and I certainly enjoyed it!
