The Gift of Curiosity: Top Educational & Science Toys
The holiday season is around the corner, and we want to make sure you have the perfect gift for the children in your life! We have taken the guesswork out of gift giving by letting our team of play experts choose the perfect gifts for children of every age.
STEM activities are based on curiosity, inquiry and play! Exploring early STEM and science allows children to engage in developing early understanding of scientific methods, critical thinking, problem solving, and inspiring curiosity about how the world around them works. Teaching science or engaging children in experiments can enhance their interest in science which will help them learn about their environment. Hands on activities and projects allow children to make discoveries, ask questions, start questioning which encourages them to explore the discovery process.
Children are hands-on learners and science and STEM inquiry allows them to actively participate in their inquiry and conduct experiments and observe different reactions!
The toys on this list are more than just a great gift. They all were hand-picked by our in-house play expert who picked them with the intent to inspire your children’s imaginations, help develop early learning skills, and discover their passions because at Scholar’s Choice we believe children deserve the opportunity to achieve their hopes & dreams through play!
These are our top picks for your little scientist's learning, play, inquiry and development! Check them out directly at the links below or scroll to read about each individual item.
Primary Science Jumbo Eyedroppers
Excellerations Millilitres Bucket Scale
These chunky, durable test tubes put serious science safely within reach for young scientists! They encourage inquiry-based investigation and hands-on observation.
This set allows your children to explore serious science experiments - plastic tubes are safe at temperatures from 10 -200 degrees Fahrenheit and feature calibration marks (25, 50, 75 and 100 ml) for accuracy of measurement!
Set includes 6 test tubes, different colored lids (to track experiments), sturdy rack and an activity guide!
Recommended Ages 3+
Primary Science Jumbo Eyedroppers
These jumbo eyedroppers are perfect for developing fine motor skills while exploring early science! They are perfectly sized for little hands and are a great addition to any science center or sensory table. Children can have fun experimenting with cause and effect while building fine motor skills!
These jumbo eyedroppers offer young scientists an opportunity to have fun experimenting with actual age appropriate replicas that actual scientists use! Children are able to explore the properties of water, cause and effect, measurement, and more.
Set of 6 colorful droppers stores vertically in a convenient stand.
Recommended Ages 3+
Children love to observe their findings up close and study them and the jumbo magnifier is perfect for encouraging exploration at any age!
The jumbo magnifier is the perfect magnifier for young children as it is perfectly sized for little hands and includes a built-in stand wchich allows for hands-free viewing at 4.5x magnification.
Children will love carrying this magnifier around with them to explore the world around them!
Get children excited about science and introduce them to the miracles of magnification with My First Microscope! Magnify any small object – flat or dimensional – at 8x with this real, working microscope designed especially for little aspiring scitentists!
Microscopes are a wonderful resource for any curious child who loves to observe and study their treasures and findings up close! They encourage scientific exploration, inspire inquiry and introduce children to a key scientific tool
Your children will love being able to see objects up close and personal. Of course this will mean you need to have all the answers to their questions about what they see!
Recommended Age 4+
Excellerations Millilitres Bucket Scale
Hands-on math and science fun! Kids can design and conduct their own experiments to predict, compare, and analyze the relationship between volume and weight of different materials. Clear, removable buckets have pouring spouts and may be used for solids or liquids. Each bucket holds 400 milliliters and is marked at 100 ml intervals - a great introduction to metric measurement.
HANDS-ON LEARNING: What's heavier - a bucket of sand or a bucket of water? Kids can design and conduct their own experiments to discover the relationship between volume and weight in a variety of different materials. Hands-on learning fosters creative thinking, problem solving, and develops science process skills such as predicting, observing, comparing, and analyzing
CLEAR BUCKETS FOR CLEAR OBSERVATION: Two removable buckets are made of clear plastic for easy observation. Fill the buckets with solids, like sand or dough, or with liquids, like water or slime. Does the same amount of water weigh as much as the same amount of slime? How much dough will it take to weigh the same as a bucket of sand? It's easy to observe the different weights and volumes balance or tip the scale
METRIC INTRODUCTION: Buckets each hold up to 400 milliliters and are marked at 100 ml intervals. An easy and fun way to introduce metric measurement
DURABLE CONSTRUCTION: Scale and buckets are made of tough, durable plastic that's simple to wipe clean
EASY TO USE: Scale has sliding adjustments to "fine tune" measurements. Buckets have spouts so it's easy to pour all kinds of materials
Recommended Ages 3+
Attract early physics skills through fun magnet experiments! Kids experiment with the motion of magnetic attraction during STEM-filled play sessions with Magnet Movers, the perfect beginner kit to explore the magic of magnets.
The set's included activity guide comes with 10 open-ended magnetism experiments that challenge kids to discover the unexpected throughout the world around them.
Little scientists can interact with the set's colorful assortment of magnetic accessories, which include everything from a hand-held magnetic wand to a magnetic post with two magnetic rings to a bar magnet with labeled positive and negative ends. Whether they're learning lessons in polarity, testing the magnetism of common household objects, or "fishing" for paper clips with different magnetic "hooks," kids can test their newfound familiarity with the scientific method while building crucial critical thinking, problem-solving, and fine motor skills. STEM Explorers: Magnet Movers turns the world into your child's fun-filled laboratory.
Recommended Age: 5+
Primary Science Mix & Measure Set
Mix, measure and create concoctions with this perfect set for little inquirers! Explore and compare measurements. These chunky, colourful tools are perfectly made for little hands.
Activity cards introduce children to measurement and guide them to making mystery goo, puffy paint, slime and more!
Recommended Ages 3+
Introduce young scientists to all the tools they need to support their curiosity with the Primary Science Set! Sized just right for small hands, these science tools will encourage kids to make some amazing discoveries!
The Primary Science Set includes durable, unbreakable beaker, magnifying glass, funnel, eyedropper, flask, tweezers, goggles, large (6") test tube and stand, 2 small test tubes with lids and stand as well as an activity guide. Tools also have accurate measurement markings to support investigations.
A set of 10 double-sided Activity Cards introduce science process skills, living and nonliving things, physical science, senses and more!
Recommended Ages 3+
Need some fun and easy STEM activities on hand for your aspiring scientist? This idea kit featuring 50 STEM activies is the perfect way to guide their curiosity.
With activities that can explode, bubble, fly and require some clever engineering, these cards will get you children excited about STEM inquiry! Each card has step-by-step instructions on one side and an image example on the other. The activities require common materials making them perfect for hours of fun.
Contains 50 double-sided activity cards and a contents card that can be used as a check-off list.
Recommended Ages 4+