Check out these top STEAM toys for preschoolers under $25 that teach STEAM concepts through play designed for kids 5 and under!
We’ve grouped the toys together under each STEAM bucket to help you find exactly the right toy for your preschooler!
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Science Toys for Preschoolers
Check out these fantastic science activity kits for preschoolers! We own many of the following kits and they are all a great way to encourage curiosity and hands-on learning for early education in the classroom or at home!
Primary Science Learning Lab Set
Your future scientist will be super excited with the Primary Science Learning Lab Set from Learning Resources.
This science activity set includes a beaker, magnifying glass, funnel, eyedropper, flask, tweezers, goggles, a large test tube, 2 small test tubes, and 10 activity cards to get started learning science by conducting real hands-on experiments!
There are several experiments included in the kit including: a volcano experiment, rainbow ice, color mixing, naked egg, fireworks in a flask, color changing celery, tie dye milk, and a sensory tube snow storm.
What we love about this science kit!
We love that the Primary Science Set introduces the names of science tools and encourages preschoolers to get started with science right at home!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Preschool Science Sets
Learning Resources Splashology! Water Lab Science Kit
This Splash Water Lab Science Kit from Learning Resources is exactly the type of hands-on STEM activity that is ideal for preschoolers to get started with STEM learning!
Preschoolers love to play with water! Learn with play with Splashology, a water lab science kit!
Concepts explored include volume, buoyancy, flow, and more! Splashology can be used in the bathtub, sink or even at a water table.
The science kit includes seven kid ready experiments that are printed on waterproof cards!
What we love about this water lab kit!
We love that this science activity set is designed to teach the scientific process to kids as young as 3 to help foster the development of STEM skills and encourage a love of science!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Preschool Science Kits
Magnatab Free Draw
The Magnatab Free Draw is a great sensory tool for exploring letters and numbers with Science!
The Magnatab is a great tool for exploring letters and numbers with a sensory-reinforced activity.
The magnets are secured in the board and never come out of the pens. To use the Magnatab, you trace the magnetized pen over the letters or numbers and the beads pop to the surface with a click to reveal the shape.
When you are finished with that letter, you simply press the beads back down with your finger and start over!
Why we love Magnatab!
What we like best about the Magnatab is that it is a great sensory tool to explore magnetism in a safe way for toddlers! The manufacturer recommended age is 3-6yrs, but we have safely played with this board with our kids as young as 18months with adult supervision.
Recommended ages: 3-6yrs
Find more Magnatab Products
Blippi My First Science: Science Kit with Color Experiments
Learn with Blippi with this My First Science kit ideal for preschoolers ages 3+!
The Blippi My First Science Kit introduces kids as young as 3 to principles of colors.
The kit comes with different colored fizzy tablets, 3 test tubes for experiments, a safe test tube rack, a dropper, and more science accessories for hands-on learning.
Kids will learn to create primary colors and mix them together to create secondary colors. They will also learn about creating paler shades of colors by measuring and adding water to their test tubes.
What we love about this Color Experiment Kit!
What we like about this kit is that it includes math and measuring as well. There is a full color instruction guide that includes hints and tips for adult science helpers!
Recommended ages: 3-8yrs
Find more Blippi Learning Kits
Unplugged Explorers Outdoor Adventure Kit
The Outdoor Adventure Kits are great for young explorers and include binoculars, a compass, LED flashlight, magnifying bug catcher, magnifying glass, a whistle, backpack, and journal.
The Outdoor Adventure Kit is designed to teach kids problem solving, exploration, and teamwork skills.
The kit comes with binoculars, a hand-powered LED flashlight with a grip hand crank, a drawstring Explorers bag, an Adventure Journal, a magnifying bug collection cup, a magnifying glass, a whistle, and a lensatic compass!
Why we love this Outdoor Adventure Kit!
What we love about the outdoor adventure kit is that it encourages kids to get outdoors and explore nature! We also like that it includes essential tools for learning outdoor adventure safety skills!
Recommended ages: 3 months+
Find more Outdoor Science Kits
Insta-Snow Powder
Insta-Snow Powder from Steve Spangler Science is a great way to enjoy some sensory play and learn about polymers!
What’s better than snow during the winter time? This Insta-Snow turns ordinary water into over 2 gallons of a fluffy snowlike substance without even mixing!
This science kit also includes an activity guide that explains the science behind this non-toxic faux snow.
The coolest part is that this Insta-Snow powder from Steve Spangler is the first and original instant snow polymer that erupts into snow in seconds. It has even appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies!
What we love about Insta-Snow!
What we love about this Insta-Snow kit is that each kit comes with a measuring scoop and an activity guide with a scientific explanation and suggestions for science fair projects and fun ways to investigate the science of polymers!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Steve Spangler Science
30 Screen-Free Activities for Preschoolers
This is a quick list of easy, screen-free activities that you can do with your preschooler to help them learn about the world around them!
Technology Toys for Preschoolers
These technology toys for preschoolers are a great way to start introducing tech through hands-on learning and play! We are always looking for new ways to encourage kids to think logically and begin building early coding skills!
ALEX Toys Future Coders Poppin’ Pictures Coding
Poppin’ Pictures Coding from Alex Toys is a great STEM toy to introduce pixels and learn how a computer makes images!
My kids love to create pixel pictures using the Poppin’ Pictures Coding set. We’ve paired this tech toys for kids with some of our favorite pixel activities!
This fun activity set breaks down images into sequences of symbols and comes with a robot board with storage, suction pen, 175 pixel tiles, and 20 challenge cards.
What we love about Poppin’ Pictures Coding!
This is a great toy that teaches some fundamental coding skills like sequencing, problem solving, and logical thinking through play!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Alex Toys STEM Kits
Code & Go Robot Mouse
Get an early start on coding skills with Jack, the fully programmable robot mouse!
The Code & Go Robot Mouse from Learning Resources is a cute way to introduce kids to coding to kids ages 4 and above.
Jack, the mouse, lights up with sounds and also has two speeds making it great for both tabletop as well as floor play.
The mouse comes with pictorial direction coding cards to plan a path and then program the mouse with an easy push-button to send him on his way.
This preschool coding toy is compatible with the STEM Robot Mouse Coding Activity Set and is part of a line of STEM activity sets designed for young learners
What we love about the Code & Go Robot Mouse!
This is a great toy that teaches some fundamental coding skills like sequencing, problem solving, and logical thinking through play!
Recommended ages: 4+
Find more Learning Resources Coding Toys for Preschoolers
VTech Write and Learn Creative Center
The VTech Write and Learn Creative Center is a great tool for young children to begin learning how to use technology to learn!
The VTech Write and Learn Creative Center is an interactive drawing board that helps kids ages 3 to 6 years learn how to write with animated demonstrations to learn proper stroke order for uppercase and lowercase letters.
It also has fun drawing activities designed to teach children how to draw simple lines and shapes as well as 26 different objects.
What we love about the VTech Write and Learn!
We love that this toy teaches kids that technology can be used to learn with play!
Recommended ages: 3-6yrs
Find more Tech Toys for Preschoolers
Robot Turtles Coding Board Game
Robot Turtles is a must buy for any budding STEM star!
The game was designed by Dan Shapiro and was the most backed board game in Kickstarter history when it was first released.
Robot Turtles has won numerous awards including Major Fun Award, Teachers’ Pick Award from Scholastic Instructor Magazine, and ASTRA Best Toys for Kids.
We play Robot Turtles with our whole family and is designed for parents and children as young as 4 to play together.
What we love about Robot Turtles!
We love that it encourages logical reasoning and computational thinking skills as well as introduces early coding skills.
Recommended ages: 4+
Find more STEM Board Games
Start-up Circuits
Start-Up Circuits is a great toys to introduce STEM to toddlers!
Start-Up Circuits helps children 2-6yrs old to develop an innate understanding of circuitry by clicking together chunky pieces and flipping the switch to power the circuits.
All of the switch blocks and action tops are interchangeable for mixing, matching, and experimenting with actual working circuits in a safe way.
With this tech toy, kids can make a spinning fan, a glowing light, and a whistling siren.
What we love about Start-Up Circuits!
We love that this toy allows kids as young as two the opportunity to explore and develop an understanding of circuitry in a safe way!
Recommended ages: 2-6yrs
Find more MindWare STEM Toys
Best Coding Robots for Kids
We love robots that teach kids coding and engineering skills, we’ve done the hard work of narrowing down the best of the best robotics toys for kids!
Engineering Toys for Preschoolers
These engineering toys for preschoolers are great toys for learning through play! We love to use building toys in our house to explore STEAM concepts and these are some of our favorites!
Magna-Qubix 19-Piece Set
Magna-Qubix are specially designed to be fun and frustration free for kids ages 3+
Magna-Qubix, part of the Magna-Tiles family, allow kids to explore STEAM concepts through play with open-ended building tiles!
Magna-Qubix are made of tough plastic, strong neodymium magnets, and are press-sealed, making them safe for children ages 3+.
These magnetic building blocks help preschoolers to develop hand-eye coordination, practice early math and engineering skills, enhance spatial awareness, and improve fine motor skills.
These translucent and brightly colored magnetic building blocks are the perfect educational tool for children to explore colors, shapes and much more!
What we love about Magna-Qubix!
We own two sets of Magna-Qubix and we like that they encourage children to problem solve and learn that each shape must be arranged and placed properly in order to prevent their builds from toppling over.
These cubes are much smaller than traditional Magnatiles and we do not recommend them for kids who still put things in their mouth.
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Magnetic Building Sets
Learning Resources Balance Scale
Explore volume and compare solids and liquids with this balance scale from Learning Resources.
We like to do a lot of activities with a balance scale. While we are big fans of making our own scale it is absolutely easier to have a handy bucket balance scale on hand to explore even more non standard units of measurement like liquids!
This bucket balance scale includes a storage drawer, 2 removable easy-pour buckets, and 2 lids designed for kids over the age of 3.
What we love about the Learning Resources Balance Scale!
We love that this balance scale encourages open-ended math exploration! We also appreciate that it allows kids the chance to explore liquids in addition to solid objects.
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Balance Scales
Brain Flakes
Brain Flakes help teach spatial thinking and engineering design concepts.
Brain Flakes are very cool to build with and you are only limited by your imagination. Just think about the things you could make with over 500 Brain Flakes!
Brain Flakes discs measure 1.3 inches across and are 1/10th inch thick. They easily click together and apart and are fun for all ages and levels of motor skills.
What we love about Brain Flakes!
We love that this open-ended toy helps kids to improve coordination and dexterity while also allowing them to use their imagination to create anything they’d like!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Building Toys for Preschoolers
Take-Apart Airplane
Kids learn how to take things apart and put them back together with the Battat Take-A-Part Airplane.
The Battat Take-Apart Airplane is a super cool educational toy that comes with 21 airplane parts, a battery-powered drill, and 3 bits.
This airplane is designed to help young kids with concentration, color and shape sorting, as well as fine and gross motor skill development.
What we love about the Battat Take-Apart Airplane
We love that this open-ended toy helps kids to improve coordination and dexterity while working through steps to complete a project!
Recommended ages: 3-8yrs
Find more Take-Apart Toys for Preschoolers
LEGO DUPLO Classic Brick Box
You can’t go wrong with LEGO DUPLO toys!
The LEGO© DUPLO Classic Brick Box comes with 65 colorful pieces in different shapes and sizes and building cards to help build a helicopter, a fish, a flower, and more!
DUPLO pieces are designed for kids ages 1 1/2 to 3 years old.
What we love about LEGO© DUPLO
We love all things LEGO© in our house! DUPLO building blocks make it easy for young children ages 1-3 to get involved in open-ended play with easier to manipulate blocks.
Recommended ages: 1-3yrs
Find more LEGO© DUPLO Toys
1-2-3 Build It! Rocket, Train, & Helicopter
The 1-2-3 Built It Rocket, Train, and Helicopter set helps toddlers build three different vehicles with a kid-sized play wrench.
This building set is designed for kids age 2 and up and includes all of the parts needed to build a rocket, an old-fashioned train engine, and a helicopter.
Why we love 1-2-3 Build It!
We love that this toy encourages kids to learn how things are built! This helps build curiosity in young children for engineering as well as assembling objects and taking them apart. Skills like this translate to coding skills like decomposition later on and building an innate sense early helps to prepare kids for computer programming!
Recommended ages: 2-5yrs
Find more Learning Resources Building Toys
Art Toys for Preschoolers
We always try to add Art to all of our STEM projects! These art kits will help encourage hands-on learning while also creating art!
Wikki Stix
Wikki Stix are a great tactile sensory toy to build with!
Wikki Stix are designed to be used by small fingers and support fine motor skill development.
You can use Wikki Stix to build endless amounts of fun projects!
Why we love Wikki Stix!
We love that Wikki Stix are an open-ended toy that allows children to develop fine motor skills while also exploring their imagination by creating all sorts of designs!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Wikki Stix Products
Kwik Stix
Kwik Stix are a must have toy for mess-free creativity with solid tempera paint!
Kwik Stix take the mess out of painting while keeping all the fun and are ideal for painting with young kids!
To use Kwik Stix, you just remove the cap, twist the stick, and paint! The solid tempera paint is a fast-drying, non-toxic formula that only takes 90 seconds to dry.
The paint also works great on poster paper, cardboard, wood, and canvas! It has been tested to the highest testing standards by Duke Toxicology and carries the AP Seal of the ACMI.
This set comes with 12 classic colors, six neon colors, and six metallic colors.
Why we love Kwik Stix!
We love to use Kwik Stix because we have three kiddos under 5 in our house! This allows us to paint at the same time without worrying about paint getting all over the floors!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Kwik Stix Products
Kinetic Sand Beach Sand Kingdom Playset
Play with sand without going to the beach with this Kinetic Sand Beach kit!
Kinetic Sand Beach Sand is a great sensory toy that is very easy to shape and cleans up easily, which is a huge win in my book!
This Kinetic Sand kit comes with 3lbs of beach sand, so you can build 8 different castle-themed sandcastles including walls, bridges, towers, and more.
The kit also comes with tools to cut, dig, rake, and shovel and is designed for kids ages 3 and up.
Why we love Kinetic Sand!
What we love about kinetic sand is the science behind how it works! Kinetic sand is sand that has been coated with silicone oil. Silicones are polymers. With kinetic sand, the polymer chains within the silicone oil stick together to help form shapes. Over time, these shapes will slowly flatten.
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Kinetic Sand Products
ALEX Toys Little Hands Pop Stick Art
ALEX Toys Little Hands Pop Stick Art lets your child make 7 fun projects with ordinary craft sticks.
This Pop Stick Art kit from Alex Toys is super cute and includes 7 projects to make with pop sticks including animals and flower puppets.
The kit includes 32 craft sticks, 85 stickers, 42 paper shapes, a glue stick, and instructions for activities that help support hand eye coordination and fine motor skill development.
Why we love Pop Stick Art!
We love that this activity is engaging for kids and supports fine motor skill development. It’s also a great way to work on color recognition skills too! Frankly, my kids enjoy sitting and sticking all of the pieces on and it this activity is engaging enough that it keeps them entertained, which I can’t complain about!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more ALEX Toys Little Hands Art Kits
Do A Dot Art Markers
Do A Dot Art Markers are fun and a mess-free way to create!
These daubers are washable and easy to clean up. Do A Dot Art Markers have an easy to grip bottle that is designed for kids of all ages.
This kit comes with 6 daubers that are 2.5oz in size. The daubers feature a patented large sponge tip and an easy to grip plastic bottle.
Why we love Do a Dot Markers!
We love using these markers for a ton of toddler and preschool dot activities to encourage hand eye coordination, learn about colors, and work on number and letter recognition!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Do a Dot Markers Related Products
Math Toys for Preschoolers
Check out these great math toys for preschoolers under $25! We love to do math activities at our house and these toys are great for encouraging preschoolers to learn early math skills with hands-on activities!
PlayMonster Lauri Foam Magnets
PlayMonster Lauri Foam Magnet Pattern Blocks are a great open-ended tangram toy for kids!
The PlayMonster Lauri Foam Magnet Pattern Blocks kit includes 200 magnets designed to help kids develop spatial awareness by making colorful designs.
We love to play with tangrams and these magnets are great for creating an endless amount of fun art on the fridge or on the go in the car!
The foam magnets are durable, extra thick, and the perfect size for individuals who need to improve their fine-motor skills. The kit also comes with a durable plastic storage container that makes it easy to store when not in use.
Why we love these pattern blocks!
We love working with tangrams and these pattern blocks allow us to build our tangram designs on our boards because of their magnetic backs! We also appreciate that the foam is extra thick, which is helpful for the pattern block process art we like to create.
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more PlayMonster Learning Toys
Mix and Measure Activity Set
The Mix and Measure Activity Set is great for kids ages 3 and above.
The kit includes durable mixing tools that are designed for young hands and includes a scale, 3 self-standing spoons, and 6 different measuring cups as well as activity cards to make mystery goo, puffy paint, slime, and more!
Why we love this Mix and Measure set!
We love all of the possibilities for learning that come with this math activity set. It is a great way to explore and compare measurements!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Learning Resources Math Kits
High Seas ADDventure Addition Game
The High Seas ADDventure Addition Game is a fun way to work on adding numbers to make 10!
The High Seas ADDventure Addition Game is designed for kids 5 and up and includes 4 game markers and 56 cards to teach math skills including addition.
This game features 2 levels of play to challenge your children as their skills grow. For 2-4 players.
Why we love this math board game!
We love that this math board game challenges kids to compose 10 while also having fun! Kids will practice math facts without even knowing it!
Recommended ages: 5+
Find more Math Board Games
Mental Blox Critical Thinking Game
Mental Blox Critical Thinking Game is designed to help kids practice following verbal instructions, ask questions, and develop critical thinking skills by creating stacks, patterns, and matching multicolor shapes.
The game comes with 20 plastic blocks that feature four different shapes and 3 different attributes, 40 activity cards, and an activity guide.
Why we love this Mental Blox game!
We love critical thinking activities that strengthen computational thinking skills since these are all important reasoning skills for learning computer programming. This game challenges kids to think critically to solve problems by recreating arrangements or following a verbal set of instructions.
Learning to communicate effectively and give straightforward instructions are crucial skills for computer programmers!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Learning Resources Math Kits
Rainbow Stacking Geometry Building Blocks
These rainbow stacking geometry building blocks are a fantastic open-ended play toy for kids age 3 and older!
These colorful, triangular building blocks are a neat addition to block sets because they offer different possibilities than conventional building blocks or planks.
Kids of all ages can make tunnels, houses, hills, chairs, doll beds, and more! We love open-ended play toys especially ones that you don’t normally find!
Why we love this Rainbow Building Set!
First, we love that this rainbow set is affordable. There are plenty of wooden rainbow sets that are available, but are often pretty expensive. We love that this set enhances hand-eye coordination, creative thinking skills, and motor skills through tactile play!
Recommended ages: 3+
Find more Wooden Stacking Toys
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STEAM Gift Guides
Looking for a STEM or STEAM toy? Check out these gift guides for more information on our top STEAM toys for kids!
Robots, Rockets, & Tech Toys for Kids that Rock!
We’ve done the hard work of sifting through the robotic toys, rocket kits, and tech toys for kids this season to bring you only the best, top-rated educational robots, rockets, and tech toys for kids that ROCK!
20+ Best Tech Toys for Kids that Rock!
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Blast Off with the Best Rockets for Kids!
These rocket toys for kids are sure to be a hit while also teaching some pretty awesome physics concepts like trajectory, force, and gravity. Learn the science behind rocket propulsion with these rockets that are great for active kiddos!
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Encourage little builders and strengthen fine motor skills with these STEM toys for kids under 5!
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Meet Toni, the Maker Mom behind Our Family Code
Hey there, I’m Toni! I’m a software engineer and Maker Mom that finds my joy in unleashing my children’s curiosity by exploring STEAM concepts with my fantastic five!
When I’m not chasing toddlers or raising tweens, you can find me tearing things up and putting them back together over here at Our Family Code.
I am the owner and content creator of multiple educational websites designed to increase access to STEAM & STEM education with a focus on teaching computer science and coding to kids of all ages!
You can also find out more about me by visiting ToniGardner.com!
