20 of the best toys for 8 year olds for 2024

Best toys for 8 year olds at a glance

Best action toys for 8 year olds

• Great for dinosaur thrills: Jurassic Park Real FX Baby T. Rex, £79.99
• Great for Transformers fans: Optimus Prime, £79.99

Best science toys for 8 year olds

• Great for mini eco warriors: Popular Science Climate Science Kit, £15.99
• Great for science lovers: The History of Life on Earth, £32.99
• Great for star gazing: LeapFrog Magic Adventures™ Telescope, £109.99
• Great for construction skills: Clementoni Science Museum Mechanics Junior Moving Animals, £23.89
• Great for nature lovers: Apple to Pears Build a Bee Hotel Gift in a Tin, £15
• Great for learning to code: Learning Resources® PYXEL™ A Coder's Best Friend, £150

Best Pokémon toys for 8 year olds

• Great for Pokémon role play: Pokémon Flame & Flight Deluxe Charizard, £35
• Great for fine motor skills: MEGA™ Pokémon™ Forest Pokémon Center, £39.99

Best boardgames for 8 year olds

• Great memory game: The World by BrainBox, £13
• Great all-action game: Exploding Kittens Good vs. Evil, £21.99
• Great game for social skills: Game of Life, £17.99
• Great family game: SUSSED Green, £9.99
• Great for puzzles and challenges: Mindshot Nature + Now, £13 per 7-pack

Best construction toys for 8 year olds

• Great for space-themed role play: LEGO Friends Olivia’s Space Academy, £59.99
• Great for spatial skills: GraviTrax Obstacle Starter Set, £59.65
• Great budget buy: Eugy, from £8.50
• Great for eco-friendly construction: Build Your Own Paper Plane Launcher, £19.99

Best stationery for 8 year olds

• Great for artists: Clementoni Pen Creator Studio, £29.99

"Playsets that can be used in pretend play scenarios are still popular, especially if they can involve putting on a show or demonstrating something entertaining," Helen added. "And now is the age that your child will really start to enjoy games they can play with others their own age. They are (finally) learning how to lose – and win – with grace (sometimes).

It's worth remembering, though, that your child may have started to develop quite a fixed idea of the kinds of activity they like or are 'good at', which can sometimes make play a little restricted, so it's often well worth doing a little coaxing to try a toy that involves them in something different."

We've broken our list down into a range of categories. Use the jump links below to help you find what you're looking for.

• Best action toys for 8 year olds
• Best science toys for 8 year olds
• Best Pokémon toys for 8 year olds
• Best boardgames for 8 year olds
• Best construction toys for 8 year olds
• Best stationery for 8 year olds

To save money on toys check out our best toy deals page to keep updated on the best toy sales. The Yoto Player and Toniebox are both great options for a range of ages. We've broken down everything you need to know about both in our Yoto vs Tonies comparison.

Here is our pick of the best toys for 8-year-olds, as tested by children and rated by their parents

Additional writing and product selection by Gill Crawshaw and Emily Longman Wall

Best action toys for 8 year olds

1. Jurassic Park Real FX Baby T. Rex, £79.99

– Great for dinosaur thrills

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: 57.5cm L x 26cm W x 31.5cm H | Batteries: 3 x AAA (not included) Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the release of Jurassic Park, the Jurassic Park Real FX Baby T. Rex is a roar-somely realistic animatronic dinosaur for any wannabe park rangers.

Controlled by inserting your hand into the protective ranger’s handling glove and activating the hand-grip controller, the realistic, rubber baby T. Rex-shaped toy – that perches on your hand - will engage with those around it. The T. Rex features sound effects and actions including bite, roar, battle, and growl.

While our child tester’s parent’s thought the level of interaction could be higher for the price, this is a realistic-looking toy for any mega fans of dinosaurs.

Our child tester Ellis (pictured above), 8, thought it was “amazing”, stating “It looks so real and also has so many noises.”

Available at: Smyths and Amazon

2. Optimus Prime, £79.99

- Great for Transformers fans

Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: 20.5cm x 37cm x 29cm | Batteries: 4 AA batteries required | Awards: Editors Choice, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

Transformers toys have come a long way from the old action figures you had to transform yourself. This interactive transforming toy has lights and sound effects, 360-degree spin and it cleverly changes between Truck and Optimus Prime autobot form using the remote control.

"My son loved it and was so excited to play with it, he was squealing with delight when he saw it," says parent tester Karla. "My son and his brother have been playing on and off for hours with it. They’ve been laughing and having fun transforming it backwards and forwards and copying the voice."

Available at: Very and Amazon

Best science toys for 8 year olds

3. Popular Science Climate Science Kit, £15.99

– Great for mini eco-warriors

Age suitability: 5+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: Various | Batteries: None

This science kit contains supplies for conducting 13 different experiments on climate change, as well as a 32-page booklet full of climate facts and step-by-step instructions for each experiment.

The experiments are fun – you can make snow, an ice cave and gooey glacier slime – and the climate-change facts are presented in an engaging way.

As is often the case with these kits, you do have supply some 'ingredients' yourself – most of them easy to find around the house – but do note that both we and Emma, mum of our child tester Finley, 7 (pictured above), were a bit thrown to have to find some glycerine. Finley, however, thought the set is "awesome".

"I really enjoyed playing with it," he said. "Making the ice cave and snow were some of my favourite experiments. The set is also serious and important as it teaches you about climate change. Children like me need to learn about it so we can help the planet so we have a better future. I hope other kids learn a lot from this set."

Nice to see the kit itself is made from recycled plastics, paper and card.

Available at: Bright Minds

4. The History of Life on Earth, £32.99

– Great for science lovers

Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: L45.1 x W7 x H31.1 | Batteries: Not Required | Awards: Editors Choice, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

There are few things more exciting than the history of life on Earth. It has everything from dinosaurs and volcanos to complex anatomy and explosive chemistry. This excitement is something that Clementoni has attempted to capture in its latest epic science kit.

The kit includes a range of experiments including a volcano, complete with the relevant tools to make it erupt, a buried dinosaur skeleton you can assemble and a VR visor that allows you to step into the past via an immersive phone app. Each experiment includes cards that explain the process, bringing science to life and helping children to understand our planet in a new and exciting way.

"The play options are endless, right from unboxing to putting together the skeletons to using the virtual reality device, it provides endless fun and excitement," said parent tester Nadia. "Both my husband and Son were playing for hours. It makes learning so much more fun and helped my son to retain what he learnt."

What stood out to us during our testing was the way that the experiments had been designed to illustrate key points on the included timeline map in order to help children to view history and science in a more tactile way. Unlike most science kits, the History of Life on Earth includes a broad range of experiments designed to engage children in everything from chemistry to botany.

“Having all of the different activities in one set was an original and brilliant idea, and he was delighted to work his way through them,” said parent tester Emily, who used the set with her 8 year-old son Bertie. “We have purchased many of the activity components separately before and he was thrilled to have them all together to take his pick.”

Available from: Amazon

5. LeapFrog Magic Adventures Telescope, £109.99

- Great for star gazing

Age suitability: 5+ | Best for age: 8 | Size: ‎58.2cm x 63.9cm x 85.3cm | Batteries: ‎4 AA batteries required. (included)| Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

Spot stars, constellations, the Moon and more with the LeapFrog Magic Adventures™ Telescope. This is a working digital telescope that allows budding astronomers to explore the night sky and world around them.

Although it’s designed for kids, the telescope has a solid technical spec with a 2.4” screen and 110x magnification that lets you zoom in on the sky at night or nature during the day. Keen astronomers can also capture and save what they see on the screen, which can be used to play NASA videos – 100+ are included – as well as display images.

"The telescope is full of fun, with many features such as facts, videos, quizez camera function and telescope function," says parent tester Laura, who tested the telescope with her 9 year old (pictured above). "Due to the wide range of features it means it can be used day or night and will last a child several years."

You can also use the telescope to play games, including an interactive adventure game where you assist Mission Control in fixing planets. Included with the telescope are 20 cosmic cards for finding out facts about the universe.

Our toy tester Jack, says “The sky is just so beautiful at night time, and I can use this in the day time too so try and spot animals. The computer games on it are really cool too, I like the robot one!” His mum Charlotte added “I think the price is just right, it has so many different great features, it provides hours of both fun and education at the same time.

I found myself learning just as much as Jack did when using it alongside him!”

Available at: John Lewis and Amazon

6. Clementoni Science Museum Mechanics Junior Moving Animals, £23.89

– Great for construction skills

Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: Various | Batteries: 3 x AAA (not included)

This construction kit, which includes a motor unit, contains 120 pieces that can be assembled into 5 different animals – gorilla, lion, seal, shark, insect – all of which will move and walk.

The build for each animal is a good challenge: long enough to keep a child absorbed but not so long they'd get frustrated. The real excitement, though comes when the build is finished and you can make your animal move.

"Wow! It's flapping its wings as it moves!" said our child tester – and insect-maker – Summaya, 8 (pictured above, at the start of her build). "I really love the bright colours. I definitely want to make a different one now!"

Our only gripe? The animals are a bit trickier to disassemble than assemble – your child may need a bit of help.

Comes with a manual and a QR code for accessing (really quite good) 3D video instructions.

Available at: Amazon

7. Apples to Pears Build a Bee Hotel Gift in a Tin, £15

– Great for engaging with nature

Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: L9.5cm x W11cm x H9cm (once built) | Batteries: None

Inside this 14cm x 10cm tin you'll find all you need to make a diddy wooden house for bees and other insects, including all parts, glue and instructions.

This is a great-value gift for a nature-loving child, especially you also get tips on attracting bees to your garden and loads of info about solitary bees and how your bee hotel can help one.

The instructions – with colour pictures – are great and clear enough for a child to (mainly) get on with the build themselves, making this a doable crafty afternoon project.

"I love it!" said our child tester Charles, 8 (pictured above). "I really enjoyed building the hotel and cant wait to see if any bees come to stay there."

"I really like the design," added our other child tester Carly, 9. "I didn't need much help to make the bee house but my dad helped with the putting the roof on as it was tricky seeing where the holes went. We put the house in the garden on our shed. I think this should be recommended a lot as it is easy to make and keeps you busy."

Available at: Amazon and Bright Minds

8. Learning Resources PYXEL A Coder's Best Friend, £150

- Great for learning to code

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8-10 | Size: 30.4cm x 20.3cm x 20.3cm | Batteries: 2 x AAA (not included) | Awards: Editors Choice, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

Coding is becoming more of an essential skill for children in the modern world, with more and more toys engaging with programming and development in new an unique. This interactive robot pet is a great way to learn the fundamentals of coding without forgetting the fun factor.

You can teach to walk, bark, change colour, express emotions and more using real coding languages, developing transferrable skills in a really fun way.

"I was surprised how much there is to do on it and my son spent ages with it today getting the robot to do all sorts of funny things and different combinations," says parent tester Lindsey, who's 10 year old son Thomas (pictured above) tested the Pyxel. "It’s very good quality and I love how much my son is learning from it."

Available at: Amazon and Learning Resources

Best Pokémon toys for 8 year olds

9. Pokémon Flame & Flight Deluxe Charizard, £35

– Great for Pokémon-themed role play

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: H15cm (Charizard) and H5cm (Pikachu) | Batteries: 3 x AAA (included)

Take this articulated Charizard dragon figure, awarded silver at the MadeForMums Toy Awards 2022, for a flight through the air and he'll respond with different lights, sounds and movements, depending on whether he's swooping up or down, right or left or spinning around. You can also load a missile in his mouth (3 are included) and then press a button on his back to fire it out.

He comes with a little Pikachu figure and a spring-loaded launcher that fires Pikachu into the air to do battle with Charizard.

"I love shooting the fire bolts at my sisters and trying to scare them with its sounds!" said our child tester Zac, 7 (pictured above). "I like how Charizard lights up and make sounds as I move him and it's also fun launching Pikachu and seeing how far he will fly."

It's probably a little pricey for what it is – you're inevitably paying extra for the Pokémon connection – but it really did hit the spot with all our testers. "Zac will be playing with this for many months to come," said his mum Anna. "He's a huge Pokémon fan and he's so happy acting out scenes from the TV show."

Available at: Smyths Toys and Selfridges

1o. MEGA™ Pokémon™ Forest Pokémon Center, £39.99

- Best for fine motor skills

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ years | Size: 25.4cm x 25.4cm x 15.24cm | Batteries: N/A | Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

Though this set might be on the pricier side, the exciting range of features and impressive detail make it a must-have for any Pokémon fan. Bringing to life on the Pokémon Centres from the game, the set features 4 Pokémon including fan favourites like Pikachu and Eevee.

What stood out most during our testing was the impressive level of detail and accuracy. Much like the in-game Pokémon Centres, you get a range of Pokéball types as well as interactive features that allow you to move the Pokémon and even a rotating door that mimics those in the games.

“I really like it, I had this set on my Christmas list so super excited when it arrived,” said child tester Connor (pictured above), aged 9, “I like how you have to build the centre in two different parts and attach them together. I think it's really cool they have added that you can move the Pokémon trailer. I keep playing with it because I like it so much.”

Available at: Very and Amazon

Best boardgames for 8 year olds

11. Brainbox – The World, £13

– Great memory game

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: L12cm x W12cm x H12cm | Batteries: None

This quick-fire country-themed memory and observation game has a nice, simple format: pick 1 of the 55 country cards, study the picture and word 'answers' about it for 10 seconds, then roll the dice to find out which question you're going to get asked. Get the answer right and you keep the card, and the player with the most cards at the end is the winner.

"It's fun to play and easy to get the hang of," said our child tester Lachlan, 9 (pictured above, left), who first played with it with his 13-year-old friend (pictured, above right). "And we learnt some really great facts!"

It's good value for money, especially as the cards as so sturdy and nicely printed, and we think the questions and answers are well pitched for this age range – lively and interesting without being too primly 'educational'. We also like that the box is small enough to throw in a bag and take to a friend's house or on holiday.

Comes with an egg timer and dice. For 1 or more players.
Available at: Amazon

12. Exploding Kittens Good vs. Evil, RRP £21.99

- Great all-action game:

Age suitability: 7+ | Best for age: 8 | Size: ‎3.91cm x 16.21cm x 11.2 cm| Batteries: N/A | Awards: Gold, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

Are your family fans of fast-paced, frantic games, and everything feline? If so, Exploding Kittens Good vs Evil could be right up your alley.

Exploding Kittens Good vs. Evil is a child-friendly version of Russian Roulette played with cards. Based on the Netflix animated series Exploding Kittens, players draw cards until somebody draws an Exploding Kitten, at which point they explode and are out of the game. To avoid exploding, they can defuse the kitten with a laser pointer or catnip sandwich or use an action card to move or avoid the Exploding Kitten. The last player left alive wins.

"She found them really funny and was laughing at a lot of the pictures," says parent tester Margaret, who tested the game with her 10 year old Jessica (pictured above). "She loved playing it and was very happy to get the Godcat and Devilcat and be able to try to explode mum!"

The card features artwork and characters from the Netflix series. However, children they don’t need to have seen it to play. While the theme might not be for every family, it is a fun game that is bound to keep your kids engrossed for hours.

Mum of home tester, Sami, added “It’s great as a standalone game. It kept my kids quiet for ages. The compactness is great as it means can take it away with you.”

You can combine the Exploding Kittens Good vs. Evil deck by buying an expansion pack of Exploding Kittens to keep the game going for longer.

Available at: Amazon and Argos

13. Game of Life, £17.99

– Great game for social skills

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: L28cm x W40cm x H4cm (when boxed) | Batteries: None

In this fun-for-all-the-family game, you move your car along the board, making 'life choices' along the way about everything from jobs to kids to money. The player with the most money at the end wins.

This game has been around since we were little so there's a warm nostalgia factor here. It has been updated and is a little more modern but still lots of fun (though the pieces are a bit fiddlier to handle). Our child testers quickly picked up the rules and particularly enjoyed adopting pets and winning the paper money. Takes about an hour to play.

Comes with cards, tokens, spinner, play money and instructions. For 2 to 4 players.

Available at: Amazon and Argos

14. SUSSED Green, RRP £9.99

– Great family game

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: 2.1cm x 9.1cm x 13.1cm | Batteries: None | Awards: Shortlisted, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

Do parents know if their child would rather hike up a mountain with a storyteller or a talking bear? Do children know if their parent would rather pet a friendly vulture or a slimy stingray? When playing the game of SUSSED Green, players guess each other’s answers and say why they made that choice. It’s a simple idea that is an opportunity to start a conversation and discover something new about other players.

SUSSED Green is a card game that can be adapted in four different ways, offering a variety of ways to interact with the game. Designed to be played by 2-8 players, the questions explore topics both adults and kids will find interesting. While it’s best suited for confident readers, the game focuses on developing social skills and encourages spending time away from screens.

Our child tester Kasper (pictured above), aged 8, enjoyed playing, stating "I like SUSSED a lot! It was fun to play with my family. I liked reading the cards and deciding what I would choose, then seeing what everyone thought I would say!”

SUSSED games are also available in a variety of different coloured packs including Cool Blue, Hello Yellow, Oddball Orange, and Mystery Purple. There are different topics of questions for each pack.

Available at: Amazon

15. Mindshot Nature + Now, £13 per pack of 7

– Great for puzzles and challenges

Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: W10cm x H13cm | Batteries: None

Inside this set of 7 pocket-sized paper packs, you'll discover cards detailing different info and activities, all of them centred on the natural world, and including games, challenges, puzzles, fact files, stickers and temporary tattoos.

We really like how you could just slip a pack in a pocket or bag, ready for whenever those 'I'm bored' moments strike. The activities are fun and nicely open-ended and each pack has a good variety of simple and more challenging activities.

On opening her first pack, our child tester, Cadhla, 8 (pictured above), said, "Wow – I love these wee activities!" and was soon running around the garden finding all the things she needed to make one of the pictures.

Her mum, Seaneen, said, "This is such a fantastic way to get the kids away from screens. The tasks and activities are very well thought out and they got our whole family involved. We love them!"

Available at: Digital Detox Kids

Best construction toys for 8 year olds

16. LEGO Friends Olivia's Space Academy, £59.99

– Great for a space-themed role play

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: L10cm x W21cm x H26cm (main academy building) | Batteries: None

This 757-piece space exploration set, winner of an editors choice at the MadeForMums Toy Awards 2022, makes for a good, long build (6 hours at least) which our child tester, Claudia, aged 10 (pictured above), couldn't wait to get started on. The finished set has lots of authentic NASA features including the robotic arm that extends from the shuttle. Even the equations on the classroom whiteboard are proper spaceflight equations!

"It’s a very calming activity especially if I’m feeling cross and need some quiet time," says Claudia. "It’s a nice thing to do and it’s fun to do it with my family because we can all work together to do it quicker. Then When it’s all done it’s really fun to play it with my sister."

We like the little observatory with its roof telescope and the fun multi-axis trainer where your little astronauts can simulate zero gravity.

"I have always wanted a space set." said our very appropriately named child tester Olivia, age 8, "but they've always been too grown up. This one gets quite complicated to build in places but I cracked it. My favourite parts are the sliding doors and the models of the planets moving round the sun."

Olivia's mum Sarah liked the little details, like the constellation maps on the observatory, and the clever moving parts. "Building this kept Olivia busy and focused," she said, "and it opened up lots of conversations about space and the planets. It's a great fun, educational toy."

Comes with 4 (nicely diverse) figures and an interactive guide that, if you download the (free) LEGO app, lets you rotate and zoom in on your model in 3D.

Available at: LEGO and Amazon

17. GraviTrax Obstacle, £59.65

– Great for spatial skills

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: Various | Batteries: None

This newer spin on the bestselling GraviTrax starter set also builds into a multi-level marble run, using a cardboard hexagon-holed base, magnetic balls and, this time, 140-odd plastic and metal pieces that slot together to create bridges, junctions, tracks, trampolines, a spiral, a zipline and even a magnetic cannon.

It's pricey but it's supercool – and there are so many tracks to build and stunts to devise. "It's really exciting to play with!" said our child tester Amelie, 8 (pictured above). "I enjoyed building the obstacles and it kept me and my brother and sister busy for hours."

Her mum Hollie added: "I like how this toy encourages your child to really concentrate and use their brain: they have to pick the right pieces and use their mind to really imagine the layout first. I really think this toy will get a lot of enjoyable use."

Comes with instructions, tasks and blueprint tracks to follow, plus access to a (free) GraviTrax app, where you can design more complicated tracks, and view the track from the ball's perspective.

Available at: Amazon and John Lewis

18. Eugy, from £8.50 each

– Great budget buy

Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: H11cm but sizes vary | Batteries: None

Each of these cute little craft kits has all you need to make a 6cm-high 3D model of an animal by slotting and glueing together card pieces in numerical sequence – non-toxic glue included. Take your pick from 21 animal designs, including a dragon, whale, meerkat (all pictured above), tiger, unicorn, narwhal and sloth.

Building the animal is challenging enough to be fun but doesn't take forever (between 10 and 20 minutes, judging by our child testers) and there's no mess!

Our child tester Bodhi Rae gave her dragon "10 out of 10". We really like how sweet and sleek the finished animals look – and that they're made from biodegradable card.

Available at: Amazon and Hobbycraft

19. Build Your Own Paper Plane Launcher, £19.99

– Great for eco-friendly construction

Age suitability: 8+ | Best for age: 8+ | Size: L36cm x W5cm x H25cm | Batteries: None

With this ingenious, eco-friendly 47-piece construction kit you can build you an impressive-looking, elastic-band-powered cardboard paper-plane launcher and 10 different fold-and-fly planes to launch from it.

There's no cutting out or glueing involved; you simply press out the pieces and slot them together, following the picture-based instructions. It takes about 1 hour to assemble the launcher – which, thrillingly, has power-indicator settings and can, if you get your aerodynamics right, propel paper planes up to 20 metres away.

Our child tester George, 8 (pictured above), really enjoyed building his launcher all by himself and then firing the planes into the air. "The best bit's seeing how far the planes go," he said. "My friends should get one too and then we could all have a big flying contest!"

Comes with 4 scoring targets to aim at.

Available at: Amazon and Build Your Own

Best stationary for 8 year olds

20. Clementoni Pen Creator Studio, £29.99

- Great for artists

Age suitability: 6+ | Best for age: 8| Size: H31.1cm x W45.1cm x D7cm | Batteries: N/A | Awards: Gold, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023

Stationery lovers can create their own customised pens with the Clementoni Pen Creator Studio, a unique creative and crafty idea for kids.

The Studio allows you to make 10 different pens using the pen creation station. 50+ accessories are included for you to create and personalise each different design. There are different choices of ink colour and nib, and each pen housing is a clear transparent tube that can be filled with glitter, pompoms, or beads. There are also a variety of different child-friendly pen toppers to choose from, including a smiley avocado, cactus, unicorn, and cat.

“The amount of magic you can create inside a pen is so cool” was the verdict of toy tester Tiya, 8, who added “All my friends will love their pens, I can make them all different and add the colours that they like.”

Her mum Bhavisha thought “She loves arts and crafts and her face just lit up seeing this as she straight away said wow, she has not seen anything like this before. The pens are something that will last a long time after being created.”

Available at: Argos

Images: Product websites and MadeForMums child testers

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