Best Habitat Science Kits
You can adopt and raise a handful of caterpillars, watch them transform into painted lady butterflies, then lift the garden cover to release your beautiful specimens into the wild. Shipping: Live caterpillars are shipped to destinations within the Continental USA and Alaska.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"but happy with the kit though Amazon that came from elsewhere, even though it was an Insect Lore kit."
"This was the best gift I could’ve ever given my granddaughter who loves butterflies everything went well and they saw butterflies go through all the process till the day they flew out of there cocoon."
"This was a lot of fun for our family."
"The caterpillars come in a plastic cylynder with food in it... you just watch them until they all form chrysalises (no additional feeding needed), then you move them to the habitat and wait... then you have to do more work and keep them fed."
"So far so good."
"All five lived and became butterflies."
"As soon as it came from Amazon, I went online and ordered the caterpillars under the assumption they'd arrive quicker (as advertised on the inserted post card). Once they finally got to my house (a month after I ordered them) - they grew and turned into butterflies."
"Didn't realize I'd have to pay additionally for the caterpillars, but when they came all were alive and well."
Includes 5" H x 3 ¼" W jar, decorative lid, potting mix, China and wheat grass seeds, plant Mister and craft accessories. Kit includes: plastic mason-style jar, decorative lid, potting mix, organic chia and wheat grass seeds, craft accessories and a plant mister to keep your terrarium watered. DECORATE YOUR TERRARIUM: Make your terrarium sparkle and shine with butterfly wings, sparkling stickers, feather butterflies, flowers and more!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I sent this to a special little girl named Alexa."
"Fun and educational, but a word to the wise - you only need to use half of the contents so that you can grow the terrarium twice."
"Grabbed this for my niece's Christmas present, she quickly lost interest after an hour or so of putting in work."
"The Kids love these."
"Just make sure that you create this craft outside in case anything is spilled!"
"The seeds grow very easily and you are able to see the roots and the entire plant as they grow."
"I bought this terrarium for my 5 year old grandson."
"Great gift - my nephews put it together with little help from a parent and have enjoyed watching it "grow"."
Get your kid the IQ Challenge Set for a head start in today's fast-paced world of making big. decisions on the fly. Send before. and after images of their puzzles via email or Twitter using #IQChallengeSet, for a special gift. from GamieUSA. The E-book will be sent to your email in 1-3 days after purchase, and comes with clear pictures and step- by-step instructions that even the kiddos can understand. GamieUSA is committed to providing children educational toys. in an enjoyable, yet challenging way. EXCEPTIONAL BRAIN GAMES: This educational toy and puzzles set will challenge your child’s intellect by stimulating amazing creativity. CHALLENGE YOUR CHILD: To make it even more fun for the little masterminds, challenge them to qualify for the GamieUSA’s special gift by solving at least two puzzles!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"bought this set for my 4 year old as an alternative to her obsession with youtube videos."
"Fun, but really really hard."
"Nice variety for small gifts for nieces and nephews to have on hand over the holidays."
"Great price for several challenging puzzles."
"Fast shipping."
"Perfect stocking stuffers for my daughter!"
Best Early Development Science Toys
The pieces, which include snap wires, slide switches, an alarm circuit, a music integrated circuit, and a speaker, snap together easily on the included plastic grid--no soldering required. With these projects, children will experiment with things like electric switches, integrated circuits, digital circuits, fuses, and the transformation of circuit sounds into other sounds. UC-30 : Upgrades to SC-300 UC-40 : Upgrades to SC-500 UC-60 : Upgrades to SC-750 AC-SNAP : Battery replacement kit Create Working Electronic Circuits Snap Circuits comes with over 30 pieces to create 101 different electronic projects. The pieces, which include snap wires, slide switches, an alarm circuit, a music integrated circuit, and a speaker, snap together easily on the included plastic grid--no soldering required. With these projects, children will experiment with things like electric switches, integrated circuits, digital circuits, fuses, and the transformation of circuit sounds into other sounds. The Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 can also be upgraded to the Snap Circuits SC-300, Snap Circuits Pro, or Snap Circuits Extreme with the purchase of a UC-30 , UC-40 , UC-60 upgrade kits, respectively. Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 Snap Circuits SC-300. Snap Circuits Pro SC-500. Snap Circuits Extreme SC-750 Build over 100 projects Contains over 30 parts Build over 300 projects Contains over 60 parts Build over 500 projects Contains over 75 parts Build over 750 projects Contains over 80 parts. Electrical parts provide students grades 2 and up (age 7+) with hands-on experience designing and building models of working electrical circuits. Includes 30 parts, and instructions for over 100 projects, including working models of a photo sensor, a flashing light, and an adjustable-volume siren.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As a kid (more years ago than I care to admit) I played with the Phillips electronics set; it came with multiple values of resistors, capacitors, inductors, a few transistors, switches, and wires, instructions to make about 30 different circuits and a booklet which explained how and why things worked. If you hope it will teach at least elementary electronics, you (like me) will be disappointed. I will list first the positives: 1) my 9-years-old child took to it like fire to straw; in the first 24 hours since opening the box (including one full day of school) he has blazed without help through about 2/3 of the projects, and shows no sign of getting bored. 2) all components worked. 3) the molded-plastic box liner helps keep the pieces neatly organized and identify what might have been dropped on the floor and risks being forgotten at the end of the play session. There is two IC, a couple switches, an input and output unit each for sound and light, a DC motor, a battery holder; the rest could be replaced with unbent paperclips, and nobody would be the wiser."
"He also played with similar, though much more complex kits, beginning at the age of 9 (but he was far more advanced in engineering skills than his peers) and had a blast. The first thing we noticed about the kit, especially for me considering I wasn't really exposed to circuits as a child aside from a brief period in junior high, was that for the most part you couldn't just look at the pieces as a newb and understand what they were. After going through maybe 6-8 different configurations (and believe me, those would be pretty cool for someone who had never worked with circuits before) we stopped, because flipping through the book we found we weren't seeing a whole lot of additional variety. To get the full value you need to not only follow the circuit configurations to achieve a certain output (fan, dimmed light, siren) but also really read and understand why certain things are happening and how each unique piece contributes to that. I'd recommend this for your budding 8-year old junior engineer, or purchase it for your ~12-year old when they start learning about this sort of thing in school. I doubt it would keep my 6-year old niece's attention, even if we worked through it with her, but we'll hold on to it to see how she progresses over time and will share it with other kids we know as it makes sense to."
"However, if you're giving multiple gifts to the child, or gifting multiple children then the 100 provides enough variation in projects to keep the kids well entertained."
"She loves puzzles and figuring things out, so this is great when you combine learning, tactile engagement, and the payoff of a light working or buzzer buzzing or propeller flying and making your little brother freak out."
Best Solar Power Kits
With alternative energy playing such a pivotal role, there is no better time than now to start children on the path to learning basic concepts behind these technologies. Additional features include: adjustable polarity on the solar panel to change direction of motor rotation, retractable robot head which can be quickly stored in the upper body, the robot head can be installed in the front, top or rear of the gearbox and transparent housing to see the movements of the gears. Easily change from a wagging-tail dog; running beetle; walking crab; surfer; speedster; zombie chaser The robot kit provides unique accessories (included) and parts that make the robot move on land and water. With alternative energy playing such a pivotal role, there is no better time than now to start children on the path to learning basic concepts behind these technologies. Additional features includes: adjustable polarity on the solar panel to change direction of motor rotation, retractable robot head which can be quickly stored in the upper body, the robot head can be installed in the front, top or rear of the gearbox and a transparent housing to see the movements of the gears. This solar powered robot can be transformed into 14 different robot modes.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I know everyone wants their kids to be little scientists, but chances are your kid isn't going to be able to follow the directions for this on their own unless they are above 10 years old and mechanically inclined, or have decent experience with model assembly. I would suggest a decent pair of kitchen shears to help snap out some of the pieces and an Exacto knife or straight razor to shave off the little pieces that tend to snap off with the pieces needed for assembly. DO NOT just snap out all the pieces and try to assemble this project. I directed him to follow the instructions and when he had a tough time, I set it up like it was in the blow-apart and had him snap it together, and he still had a tough time with some of the assembly."
"Took them a good 4 sessions to complete the easier model and all of them were outside racing their bots outside in the sun."
"When I received the shipment it was a different model (7 in 1 Kit) I called Find Cool Toys and they apologized for the error and told me I could keep the kit for free and they sent me the larger kit later that week."
"Got this as a gift for my stepson but haven't received any complaints."
"I have a grandchild that is busy all of the time."
"We trimmed all the plastic edges off, we made sure all gears were correctly fitted, it will not take on any energy from sun or lamps."
"sooo i ordered this for my son for christmas and the solar panel did not work."
"Good product for older kids."
Best History Learning Aids
Finger Rocket is a STEM toy! ❥UNIQUE AND POPULAR LED TOYS - Safety, durable, well-made foam and rubber launcher that outlasts other finger rockets brands.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The light on the copter made it perfect for night time play.The launcher is a simple heavy rubber band sling shot."
"They love anything that flies and the light up function makes them super fun."
"These rockets r so much fun!"
"These are a simple, neat, safe toy."
"It took him a few minutes (and some patience) to learn to shoot them, but he quickly got the hang of it."
"I bought this product as a Christmas gift for everyone in my family."
"this is the most funny toy i got for my kid this year."
"It was a little tricky to get the lights to all turn on - there’s a “button” on each one, but sometimes you really had to press hard or jiggle it to make it turn on/off."
Best Children's Detective & Spy Kits
HOURS OF LEARNING. Outdoor learning has never been this much fun! 100 % SATISFACTION GUARANTEE - Includes all accessories such as Cleaning Cloth, 2-Foot Long Neck Strap, Operations Manual and a Carrying Case. Great for bird watching, learning, star gazing, hunting, sports games, theatres, boat rides, hiking, learning, travel, summer fun and enjoying the wilderness!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"We were so excited to get these binoculars! However, after many excited hands were grabbing the binoculars to try them out, they fell to the floor and broke. And they actually work well for kid binoculars, unlike some cheap ones you find other places. If you are looking for a great set of kid binoculars, I highly recommend these."
"It is long enough that she can carry the binoculars around her neck, and they hang down to her waist. These are real binoculars, comparable in weight and quality to binoculars I've taken to watch sporting and cultural events."
"The neck strap is designed to attach to one side of the binoculars though a little hole."
"These are really nice binoculars for older kids - they have two different focusing dials and adjust wider and narrower to fit your child's eyes."
"The strap was a little hard to install as the side holes were slightly obstructed by plastic, but I just used something sharp to make a hole larger."
"The real deal."
"They're a nice size for little hands and eyes and seem to be well built to withstand the punishing things those hands can do!"
"These looked too childish when I saw the box, but they are actually quite nice."
Best Mathematics & Counting Toys
VTech toys deliver "smart play" through the combination of entertaining electronic formats and engaging, age-appropriate content that helps children learn while having fun. 5 sides of play encourage discovery and exploration 4 light-up buttons introduce animal names, animal sounds and shapes 14 interactive features develop fine motor skills Motion sensor activates fun sounds when the activity cube is moved to attract attention 25 playful songs and melodies keep little ones engaged Parent-friendly features include volume control for quieter play, durable design and automatic shut off. Kids learning toy has 5 sides that encourage exploration; 4 light-up buttons introduce animal names, animal sounds and shapes.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The top side has 4 buttons (circle, triangle, star, square) each with an animal picture in them (circle-bird, triangle-cow, square-cat, star-dog). This toy, no matter how annoying, is fun for my baby and is teaching her motor skills and cause and effect. I highly recommend it. UPDATE: My baby is now 16 months old and she still really enjoys playing with this toy."
"I bought this for a local shelter family that requested age appropriate learning toys for a 2 year old."
"This is definitely one of the best VTech toys for babies."
"It's the perfect size for him to sit it in his lap to play or lay next to it; lightweight but seems well made."
"A bit smaller than I thought it would be but not much, I should have checked the dimensions before buying though so that's on me."
"Typical Vtech and by that I mean, a good product and never disappointed with VTech products."
"This activity cube is a Christmas gift."
"This was and still is my one of my kids favorite toys."
Best Kids' Musical Instruments
This kids piano keyboard you can touch it with hand, foot ,can also be used to play music on the blanket, exercising children's ability of coordination and improve motor skills for Learning & Education - Comes with On/Off switch with light with Automatic power off system- Folds for easy storage and travel - Ages1 and Up - Great Gifts For Boys And Girls - Original - By Play22®. Piano mat comes with Record, Playback, Demo, Play, Adjustable Vol.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Ordered 2 for my 6 and 3 year old grandsons."
"Works well, huge compared to others ive ordered."
"It is good to play with children and parents."
"Combining music and movement is a super way to engage children with learning more about playing the piano."
"Great gift for all ages."
"Great toy and has been holding strong."
"I especially love that it just wipes clean when it gets dirty."
"The intended grandbaby loves it!"
Best Early Development Toys
Early learning center has 5 piano keys that play music and encourage creativity; wheels work on carpeted and hard floors.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I saw the issues about the wheels sliding on hard floors, being too light to support a child while standing up, going too fast and kids falling on their face... Wheels sliding on hard floors... False, there is a rubber seam on the rear wheels that prevents side to side motion. My 12 month old (recieved this for his birthday) uses the locked setting on the main floor where it's hard floor and the free spinning setting on the carpet."
"Let me also clear up any confusion on why my LO likes this walker - My LO likes this as a toy, loves the music and sounds. - There are two settings to control the speed of the walker (however, we have never used more than one which is the slowest - We have used this walker on hardwood floors - you might want to use the faster setting if using on carpet). - The musical unit will keep your LO entertained for hours! We have had a couple falls, not really bad ones, and while I understand that kids fall and hurt themselves, its not fun when your LO is attempting to stand with the walkers help and the walker slips and runs away. All in all, this was much better than the other walkers we tried. The other name brand walker we purchased was no where in comparison to this walker. Please note - pediatricians now recommend not using a walker, I feel if you are constantly watching over your LO this is probably the safest walker and the most fun walker out there - minus the differences in the older and the newer models."
"A few days later, still a little sad that I couldn't find anything else, a friend of mine posted a video of her kiddos (she has twins) playing with the same toy I wasn't buying!! If your baby is ready to start walking then this toy is absolutely wonderful but please know that if your baby cannot stand on their own, then they are not ready to be walking with this toy so just get it for them to press the buttons since it can be easily removed until they can stand and walk with it. That is what it is made for. I gave the educational value a four because while there are a million things on it that baby can learn from, they probably are not going to because they will be so busy wanting to push a million other buttons."
"Little tip: If you have hard wood floors they can get going kind of fast especially when they are first learning to control their walking."
Best Geographic Globes
They're made with superior quality materials and are rigorously tested for quality, leading to a toy unmatched in quality and durability. At Kidzlane, we ensure the complete safety of our toys by conforming to the highest industry standards. ENCOURAGES LEARNING & DISCOVERY - Kids can explore the world in colorful, easy to read detail including continents, countries, cities and natural wonders. Ideal as a birthday, Christmas, graduation, or anytime gift for preschoolers to young adults.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Neither my city nor my nephew's city (both major cities) are on the globe."
"I bought this for my husband and he LOVES it!"
"The countries also only have basic cities, nothing too complicated, so it is good for young children."
"My five year old loves it."
"We bought this globe for one of our grandsons."
"This globe was just perfect for my Grandson turning 8 yrs."
"I bought a wall map to go along with this item for her birthday and she seems happy with how it looks."
"After 6 weeks the light shorted out and only worked sporadically."
Best Electronic Learning Products
It's become an all too common sight to see kids with their faces glued to screens, disconnected and disengaged from the world around them. Osmo was conceived to open up the digital experience to unlimited possibilities of real world, dynamic play and learning. Nothing is better than watching kids smile as they gain confidence and develop powerful creative minds. Solve physics puzzles by drawing lines on paper or placing objects, like a pen or a toy dinosaur, in front of the screen. 5 magical hands-on games and the iPad Base foster creativity & problem solving skills. 2017 Genius Kit comes with the Osmo Base (stand & reflector), game playing pieces (including upper and lower case Word’s tiles) and stackable storage containers.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Whenever my son goes into Osmo, it tries to sell him Osmo coding."
"As a teacher and mother of a young child, I love the idea of this product. You could argue that this is an advantage to learning both but it is confusing when you're spelling words with all uppercase. I feel like a $100 app should include different screens and games for adding. The app constantly asks us to move the pieces but it never corrects itself."
"She is a wiz on the iPad, so naturally we thought it would be a good option to expand her skills using the device she is familiar with. She is starting kindergarten which has focused us on working towards those simple reading and math skills. I will layout the pros and cons for this product, which ultimately, I highly recommend for all parents starting with a 5 year age group. Cons: - Only works with Apple Products (I hope the designers expand to other touchscreen devices. Since my daughter is 5 years old, we were working with the Easy and Medium applications, but this allows for her to grow with the program, which is a nice feature. She was able to work, free of our attention, for almost 30 minutes, exploring the different animal shapes and construction of the pieces."
Best Kids Basic Skills Development Toys
Early learning center has 5 piano keys that play music and encourage creativity; wheels work on carpeted and hard floors.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I saw the issues about the wheels sliding on hard floors, being too light to support a child while standing up, going too fast and kids falling on their face... Wheels sliding on hard floors... False, there is a rubber seam on the rear wheels that prevents side to side motion. My 12 month old (recieved this for his birthday) uses the locked setting on the main floor where it's hard floor and the free spinning setting on the carpet."
"Let me also clear up any confusion on why my LO likes this walker - My LO likes this as a toy, loves the music and sounds. - There are two settings to control the speed of the walker (however, we have never used more than one which is the slowest - We have used this walker on hardwood floors - you might want to use the faster setting if using on carpet). - The musical unit will keep your LO entertained for hours! We have had a couple falls, not really bad ones, and while I understand that kids fall and hurt themselves, its not fun when your LO is attempting to stand with the walkers help and the walker slips and runs away. All in all, this was much better than the other walkers we tried. The other name brand walker we purchased was no where in comparison to this walker. Please note - pediatricians now recommend not using a walker, I feel if you are constantly watching over your LO this is probably the safest walker and the most fun walker out there - minus the differences in the older and the newer models."
"A few days later, still a little sad that I couldn't find anything else, a friend of mine posted a video of her kiddos (she has twins) playing with the same toy I wasn't buying!! If your baby is ready to start walking then this toy is absolutely wonderful but please know that if your baby cannot stand on their own, then they are not ready to be walking with this toy so just get it for them to press the buttons since it can be easily removed until they can stand and walk with it. That is what it is made for. I gave the educational value a four because while there are a million things on it that baby can learn from, they probably are not going to because they will be so busy wanting to push a million other buttons."
"Little tip: If you have hard wood floors they can get going kind of fast especially when they are first learning to control their walking."
Best Flash Cards
People who have used flash cards were proven to get better exam scores for this reason. ✔ The 2 rings included are great so you can review just 1 set at a time, or for the examples that need more practice... ✔ The cards are approximately 3"x6", the perfect size for comfortable hand-holding. ✔ This is a great method for teaching visual learners either in the classroom or for your child at home. Make math fun and get your set of Star Education Multiplication Flash Cards today! ✔ LARGE CLEAR NUMBERS – These flash cards are the perfect hand-held size with large, clear and bold numbers so it easy to see even from the back of the classroom.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I love that it's a complete set, in that it repeats the facts for each number."
"Kids love when they get to move the cards from one ring to the other."
"These are really good quality cards and are exactly what I was looking for, the only complaint I have is that the 2 rings it is supposed to come with were missing."
"This set of cards was just what we needed."
"Thick & sturdy, they are easy enough for an adult to shuffle, and have corners of different shapes to make sorting and cleanup easier when your kid drops them all over the floor."
"These are pricey but I've tried to use cheap ones and they end up getting messed up or have cards missing."
"Great cards."
"Pros. Text is large. Moves easily on rings. Cards are thick enough to withstand kids. Cons. organized from highest to least multiplier (ie: 7x12, 7x11, 7x10,...etc."
Best Reading & Writing Development Toys
82PCS 1.5" Letters & Numbers.26 Uppercase Letters, 30 Lowercase Letters, 20 Numbers + 6 Symbols. COMPONENTS: 82 PCS Magnetic Letters & Numbers with five different colors ( green, blue, orange, red and yellow), includes 26 uppercase letters, 30 lowercase letters, 20 numbers + 6 symbols.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Every morning my wife put a simple word on the refrigerator and ask my son to read it out loud."
"Love magnetic letters and numbers. My daughter is three and these are great to practice identifying letters, numbers, and having her practice placing letters together to create her name."
"I'm a school teacher in elementary and these are perfect for teaching phonics."
"The magnet could be a tad stronger in my opinion, but the streingth is good for my son's use."
"Its plastic with small parts of magnets in the back of letters and numbers, great items with different colors."
"I enjoyed watching him make "trains" with the letters."
"Very useful in teaching her how to read usign these magents by forming the CVC , CVCC word families."
"I love these magnets, I had similar magnets when I was little so these definitely brings back childhood memories!"