15 cool and unique tech gifts for kids that are also educational

Samantha Lee / Business Insider

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Technology-themed toys are a great way for kids to enjoy themselves while also honing skills that will be useful in the job market of their adult lives.
STEM toys encourage critical thinking, logic, problem solving, and are often good for hand-eye coordination and fine motor muscle development as well.
Here are 15 great toys for techie kids younger than 10 that will have them entertained, engaged, and even educated, all through play.

The problem with many of the STEM-themed, techie kids’ toys out there these days is that they require parental assistance.

I can’t tell you how many times my son has been working on a robot assembly project, using a science kit, or playing with a coding app and has needed my wife or me to help out with a particularly tricky step. Most of the time I’m more than happy to help out and to hang out even when he doesn’t need a hand, but there are also plenty of occasions where there is adult stuff to be managed and I’d really like for him to just play independently.

Granted, my son is five, so I don’t actually expect him to have mastered blockchain coding, LEGO construction, or basic chemistry — not without some assistance, anyway.

But whenever we do find a toy, art project, or other activity that he can thoroughly and independently enjoy, we make note of it. So you can trust that all of the techie toys on this list should are not only engaging and educational, but also should be suitable for kids under 10 to use with little or no help from mom or dad. Unless of course you want to join in; free time permitting, playing with tech toys is fun at any age, after all.

Still shopping for more gifts? Check out all of Insider Picks’ holiday gift guides for 2018 here. 

A programming kit that encourages imaginative inventing

Makeblock

Makeblock Neuron Explorer Kit, $ 199.95, from Apple

This kit is one of my son’s all time favorite toys, and keep in mind he is only five. Kids a couple years older will love the building, programming, and play all the more because they will be able to do it all independently. From a piano that can play all sorts of sounds using a range finding sensor (keys break the beam it projects) to a working remote control robot (complete with a camera) to a truly unlimited number of original projects your kid devises himself, the opportunities for fun and for learning about engineering, robotics, circuitry, and programming are pretty much endless with a Makeblock Neuron Explorer Kit. Which is good, because it ain’t cheap.

A remote-controlled, all-terrain buildable vehicle

GeoSmart

GeoSmart Flip Bot, $ 59.99, from Amazon

The GeoSmart Flip Bot is part building toy, part functional little vehicle. And playing with it involves zero screen time. Kids assemble the robotic rover using magnetic components, so there are no tools involved. The building is half the fun (and not too challenging, either), while the remote control driving of colorful bot is the rest of it. Rated as suitable for kids over the age of five, the GeoSmart Flip Bot will be fun and not too challenging for kids up to age 10.

An iPad extension with games, drawing, and puzzles

Osmo

Osmo Genius Kit for iPad, $ 89.99, from Amazon

The Osmo Genius Kit converts an iPad (which is required here, FYI) into a multi-game play system using both on screen graphics and physical objects together. From puzzles kids assemble by hand using prompts from the Osmo app to word and number games to an interactive drawing program that’s fun but also helps a young artist improve her work, this kit goes well beyond the level of engagement you’ll find with most app-integrated todays. It can also be programmed to be suitable for kids as young as five and as old as twelve.

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