Best STEM toys for the inquisitive child in 2025
Looking for toys that teach cool stuff about science, engineering, tech and maths? We've selected – and tested – some brilliant ones for children of all ages
STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) toys have become a bit of a trend over recent years, as more and more of us parents see the value of cool toys that encourage a love of all things science and tech.
Gone are the days when all you could find was the odd home science kit (often still GREAT, by the way); now there are loads of toys that come under the STEM umbrella – and many of them are awesome to play with.
From gemstone digging toys for budding archaeologists to amateur engineer and coding kits, there are endless amounts of scientific sets to explore and, helpfully, in a huge range of prices.
Here's some of our favourite STEM toys we've seen in 2025.
Best STEM toys at a glance
- National Geographic Magnetic Marble Run, £69.99
- Hot Wires: Plug and play electronics set, £45.79
- Learning Resources Robots in Motion Building Set, £40
- NASA Light Projector, £10
- National Geographic Ultimate Gemstone Dig Science Kit, £18.99
- Science in Wonderland, £9
- Nickelodeon Experimake Explosions and Eruptions Science Kit, £12
- Sea Monkeys Ocean Zoo, £10
- City Engineering & Design Set, £28.49
- Build Your Own Microscope, £22.99
- Sink or Float Activity Set, £30.99
Best STEM toys to buy your child in 2025
National Geographic Magnetic Marble Run, £69.99
Available at: Amazon and Hamleys
Age suitability: 7+ | Best for age: 7-9 | Batteries: None
This motorised marble kit comes with 70 tracks and connectors, 32 trick pieces, 25 marbles and more for infinite building combinations.
Hot Wires: Plug and play electronics set, £45.79
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Batteries: 4 x AA batteries
This kit comes with over 100 experiments involving light, sound and movement. You can rewire and rework your machines in so many ways and play around with plugs, motors and engines.
Learning Resources Robots in Motion Building Set, £40
Available at: Learning Resources and Amazon
Age suitability: 5+ | Best for age: 5+| Batteries: None
A 116-piece set full of gears, wheels, axles, treads, arms and eyes that build into 3 different robots that twist, turn and transform. The pieces are compatible with Learning Resources Gears! Building sets, so you can also devise open-ended builds of your own. Comes with an activity guide/instruction booklet.
NASA Light Projector, £10
Available at: The Entertainer
Age suitability: 5+ | Best for age: 5+| Batteries: None
Transform any room into an interplanetary display with this NASA Light Projector. Complete with a colour changing bulb and the outlines of astronauts and star systems, this lamp is sure to inspire a love of the night sky and maybe more.
National Geographic Ultimate Gemstone Dig Science Kit, £18.99
Available at: The Entertainer and Amazon
Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+| Batteries: None
This set comes with 20 genuine gemstones to dig for, igniting your kids' love of archaeology in the process. Stones include Pyrite, Amethyst, Tiger's Eye, Fluorite, Quartz, Obsidian and more, and the instructions are easy to follow.
Science in Wonderland, £9
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 3+ | Best for age: 3+ | Batteries: None
A kit for 5 experiments, including making a kaleidoscope in a tree stump, making a ladybird’s wings flap with solar energy, making a fairy dance, making flowers bloom in seconds and making a colour-changing butterfly.
Nickelodeon Experimake Explosions and Eruptions Science Kit, £12
Available at: The Entertainer, Amazon and Marks & Spencer
Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Batteries: None
This kit is as messy as they come – but worth it for all the fun! The experiments include showing your child to make explosive rockets, water bombs and erupt a volcano. Complete with realistic equipment like goggles and test tubes.
Sea Monkeys Ocean Zoo, £10
Available at: The Entertainer, JD Williams and HMV
Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 6+ | Batteries: None
Just add water and grow your own Sea Monkey colony. The aquarium tank comes with a magnifier so you can watch your Sea Monkeys hatch and grow.
City Engineering & Design Set, £28.49
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 5+ | Best for age: 5+ | Batteries: None
A 100-piece kit, designed to help children develop real-life engineering skills by building bridges, cranes, buildings – and more – and then adapting them to solve a challenge. Comes with building challenge cards and an activity guide.
Build Your Own Microscope, £16.99
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Batteries: None (you use the torch on your phone as the light)
A working 30x magnification microscope you build yourself by slotting together 54 pre-cut, press-out sustainable-cardboard parts. Once assembled, it has a focusing dial, a built-in periscope and a removable magnifier, if you fancy some outdoor exploring. Comes with 3 specimen trays and detailed instructions (including a QR code for a how-to-build video).
Sink or Float Activity Set, £21.59
Available at: Springboard Supplies and Amazon
Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 8+ | Batteries: None
A 32-piece set of bath toys with a cunning science-y spin: it comes with 10 activity cards explaining the sink-or-swim games you can play with each of them.
About the author
Helen is Deputy Editor of MadeForMums, the author of Parenting for Dummies (Wiley, £17.99) and the Head Tester for our MadeForMums Toy Awards. She has written about parenting for Mumsnet, Pregnancy & Birth, Prima Baby, Boots Parenting Club and She Magazine and she's also been Consumer Editor of Mother & Baby. She has 3 boys and a heavy-duty washing machine.
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Authors
Helen is author of the classic advice book Parenting for Dummies and a mum of 3. Before joining MadeForMums, she was Head of Community at Mumsnet and also the Consumer Editor of Mother & Baby.