10 of the best space toys and toy rockets
The greatest rockets, puzzles, and space-themed toys the universe has to offer, for girls and boys aged 18 months to 8 years plus
Whether your child's still a baby, has just started to ask questions about the world around them or has developed a real aptitude for science at school, there's always a good reason to introduce space into their toy box.
Our rundown of the best space toys offers a real mix of many different elements of space: rockets, astronauts and space travel, planets, solar systems, stars, and more.
And they're great learning toys: perfect for kids with big imaginations, as well as just being, well, loads and loads of fun.
We've found all sorts from with space associations from build-your-own rockets to puzzles, playhouses and cosmic experiments.
Here's our pick of the best space toys and toy rockets for kids...
1. Petit Collage Magnetic Outer Space Play Scene Toy, £18
Age: 3+
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What it is: A set of54 magnetic pieces that join together to make lots of different space scenes. Includes 2 backgrounds, 2 astronauts, space rockets and the planets in our solar system.
Why we love it: We like that kids can use this set to create their own idea of a space scene (great imaginative play) and putting all the pieces in the right places also requires a nice bit of hand-eye co-ordination. There's a storage box, too, which also doubles up as a background for your child's creative scene. Lovely.
Available from: John Lewis
2. Hape Four-Stage Wooden Rocket Ship, £80
Age: 3+
What it is: A 74cm-high 20-piece, 4-tier rocket ship with detachable parts, an alien figure, an astronaut figure, and plenty of accessories.
Why we love it: This sturdy wooden toy rocket is ideal for children with big imaginations, who love creating adventures and stories inside pretend worlds. It's easy to set up and then detach, so though it's quite big, it can easily be stored away.
Available from: Argos
3. Lego Mars Research Shuttle, £24.99
Age: 5+
What it is: A 273-piece set that builds into a research shuttle, rover toy with gripping arm, storage drone, helidrone and 2 jet pack wearing astronaut figures. You can download the Lego Life app to zoom into 2 different levels of building instructions, dependant on age and ability.
Why we love it: As you'd expect from LEGO, so much intricate detail has gone into the pieces, making imaginative play oh-so-realistic. The smaller rover toy alone is fantastic: it has tilting laser and solar panels and looks more than ready to tackle the unexplored terrains of Mars.
Available from: LEGO
4. Playmobil Mission Rocket with Launch Site, £49.99
Age: 6+
What it is: A 113-piece Playmobil set that builds into a 72cm-tall rocket with launch platform, countdown sounds and lights, and 2 repair pods. Includes 3 figures – 1 astronaut and 2 engineers – and accessories including tools, toolboxes, a laptop and a headset with microphone. Requires 2 AA batteries (not included).
Why we love it: The lights and sounds are brilliant, as are the pods that rotate around the tower. We also like that you can take the top off the rocket and put the astronauts inside. The little accessories are nicely detailed, too. Do note that there’s a fair bit of set-up before you can play.
Available from: Amazon, Smyths Toys and Playmobil
5. Galt Toys Space Lab, £12.99
Age: 5+
What it is: A space-focused STEM learning lab kit that features 12 experiments, all guided by a 24-page booklet. There a chance to launch a rocket, make a telescope and so much more. Requires adult supervision.
Why we love it: All the experiments are compatible with the National Curriculum – great for expanding learning at home in fun way. The instructions are easy to follow, although we'd say it's probably best for ages 7 or 8 up.
Available from: Amazon
6. Colour Your Own Rocket Ship Playhouse, £33.99
Age: 3+
What it is: A 119cm-tall rocket-shaped playhouse made from sturdy recycled cardboard with a black and white design to colour or paint. Arrives flat-packed and can be assembled without tools or glue.
Why we love it: It's a playhouse, an imaginary rocket ship and an art project all in one! We like its see-through porthole and how, although there's loads to colour in, it's all easily divided up into smaller, more do-able sections or patterns. Very easy to slot together and reassuringly sturdy once assembled.
Available from: Eurotrade
7. Orchard Toys Rocket Game, £8.50
Age: 4+
What it is: An educational matching and counting game - with a space theme, of course!
Why we love it: It's straightforward as board games go. You simply spin the wheel, pick a card and build what Orchard Toys call a 'vapour trail'. Whoever has the most loops in their trail wins. It's simple, fun, and a great way to introduce talking about different planets (and even the concept of aliens) with your child.
Available from: Orchard Toys and Amazon
8. Janod Wooden Magnetic Rocket, £17.80
Age: 2+
What it is: A 14cm-high wooden rocket, with a movable propellor, that comes in 5 pieces that fit together with magnets – plus a little astronaut.
Why we love it: A brightly-coloured but simple toy with great grabbable chunky pieces that fit together really easily. We love the little astronaut you can pop inside.
Available from: Amazon
9. BinaryBots UFO Coding Kit, £40
Age: 8+
What it is: A 19 x 19 x 16cm UFO-shaped bot (with an inbuilt BBC micro:bit computer) designed to use lights and sounds help your child the basics of coding. Connects to a Mac, PC or smartphone.
Why we love it: This is very exciting to set up – with all sorts of wires and a cardboard stand-up speaker – and, thanks to the some good instructions, easy to play with. Educational, sciencey and fun.
Available from: Science Museum
10. Great Little Trading Co Multi Activity Rocket, £88
Age: 18 months+
What it is: A 62cm-high wooden rocket/activity centre, designed to help toddlers learn colours and hand eye co-ordination.
Why we love it: It's not cheap but it's made from sturdy wood, beautifully painted and crammed with lovely twiddly features, like push-and-pull levers, beads, gears, a mirror, a bell and a working clock.
Available from: Amazon
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