Best STEM Toys for 11-Year-Olds

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What is the most fun and effective way to bring STEM learning to your 11-year-old? The answer is to mixing education with playtime. That’s why STEM toys are great tools to introduce “difficult and boring” subjects such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

From problem-solving, critical thinking to the basics of scientific methods and engineering, STEM toys make learning more engaging and interesting for your 11 years old. In this guide, we will talk about some of the best STEM toys for 11-year-olds.

1. Best STEM Automation Toy for 11-Year-Olds

Hydraulic Arm Edge Kit

best stem toys for 11-year-olds

Pros

  • The arm gripper has a strong build and is made with quality material
  • It teaches your kid the basics of programming and robotics
  • The arm is operated by water. There is no need for batteries.

Cons

  • The remote control buttons can get a bit difficult to push for small kids

STEM relatedness – With this product, your 11-year-old can enjoy six-axes commands of diverse movements. There is a 1.89-inches gripper to open and close the robot hand. Additionally, it features 180-degree wrist rotation, 44-degree elbow range, 270-degree base rotation, and 45-degree shoulder motion. With them, your child can lift a wide range of objects. While learning the basics of electrical engineering and automation, your child also gets to reinforce his understanding of mechanical engineering. What is also cool is that this toy teaches your child the basics about the hydraulic systems because it is powered by water.

Entertaining – Your 11-year-old will have complete control of the hydraulic system and its related applications. The instructions are straight forward and filled with illustrations. With 229 assembling parts, your little engineer will enjoy the challenge while gaining a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

Overall – Overall, the OWI Hydraulic Arm Edge Kit is a fancy and unique STEM toy for 11-year-olds, especially those with an interest in robotics. It can get them started with the basics of electronics, robotics, and mechanics in one unified toy.

2. Best STEM Building Block for 11-Year-Olds

Hamburger Store Building Set

Hamburger Store Building Set

Pros

  • It has an appealing and adorable appearance
  • It strengthens a child’s logical thinking and planning skills
  • It comes with 443 parts and accessories to encourage creativity

Cons

  • There are many small parts and they can get lost easily

STEM Relatedness – This attractive STEM Toy is as attractive as its educational. It is a wonderful choice to enhance the creativity and imagination of your 11-year-olds. This toy challenges your child to make their own store and customize it by using their own imagination.

Entertainment Value – Unlike many other STEM toys, this Hamburger Store looks enticing rather than intimidating. It is easier to accept and digest for entry-level kids. What’s more, it makes a great tool for kids to spend time with their parents because you all can build up your dream store together. This building set makes for a great birthday gift and a fantastic room decoration. 

Overall – This feature-packed burger store playset helps improve a child’s creativity by using the real-world objects. It is one of the best STEM toys for 11-year-olds who are new to STEM subjects.

3. Best Camera Drone for 11-Year-Olds

HR Drone for Kids

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Pros

  • It captures crystal clear 1080P HD photos and videos
  • It can be controlled by voice or hand gestures
  • It features multiple flight mode

Cons

  • It is made of plastic and may break easily for beginners

STEM relatedness – The Snaptain SP650 HD Camera Drone features an enhanced 1080P full HD camera and a 120-degree wide-angle lens. Your 11-year-old can enjoy a spectacular flying experience while practicing basic photography and videography skills. The various flying modes such as the 360-degree flip and circle fly can help your child learn gravity, velocity, and resistance in real life. What’s more, this toy can be controlled through hand gestures and voice commands.

Entertainment Value – It may take a while for your child to get the hang of it but eventually it will be fun and effortless. The good thing is you don’t need to register the drone with the FAA. It’s a great toy to play in the backyard or on a camping trip. Your child will be proud to show off the new stunts he learns.

Overall – If you are looking for a good beginner level drone for your kid, this product is an ideal choice. Though it’s a bit pricey, it is an all-in-one STEM toy that brings lots of learning and challenge.

4. Best Mechanical Engineering Toy for 11-Year-Olds

Mechanical Engineering Robotic Arms

Mechanical Engineering Robotic Arms

Pros

  • It allows your child to build six different robotic arm configurations
  • It features a special pneumatic system to power the models for movements
  • It comes with a guide and detailed instruction manual

Cons

  • The components are not compatible with Legos

STEM relatedness – This engineering toy lets your child build up to six mechanical models such as grabber claws, arms, and legs. Your 11-year-old can learn the fundamental mechanical engineering principles by assembling and operating the toy. This pneumatic system is powered by air pressure. It also comes with a 36-page colored manual with graphics.

Entertainment Value – Besides learning and exploring and functionalities of the various models, your child can learn how industrial robots are used to manipulate heavy objects such as automobile components. It’s not only fun to put the parts together and see how the robots work in real life, but it also prompts your child to be curious and think about how to utilize technology for efficiency.

Overall – The Mechanical Engineering Robotic Arms is a wonderful STEM toy that teaches useful and practical knowledge. It encourages children to explore the magic of pneumatic powers.

5. Best STEM Circuit Board for 11-Year-Olds

Electrical Circuit Kit by Playz

Electrical Circuit Kit by Playz

Pros

  • It teaches electricity, voltage, currents, and magnetic science
  • It features more than 25 hands-on experiments
  • It enhances a child’s logical thinking and creative reasoning skills

Cons

  • Some children found the manual difficult to follow

STEM relatedness – The Electrical Circuit Kit by Playz allows your child to explore how different electronics and magnetic forces work together. This toy consists of different lights, magnetism, sound options, and even radios. All the features help your 11-year-old boy or girl practice critical thinking while exercising their fine motor skills.

Entertainment Value – The various experiments provided by this STEM kit prompts your child to explore by touching, seeing, and listening. Your little scientist will enjoy these sensory experiments and be amazed by what this simple circuit is capable of. Besides the experiments range from easy to complex levels, which allow your 11-year-old to explore in a systematic way.

Overall – This electric circuit kit is a fun toy that teaches a broad range of engineering subjects. Your child will have a blast inventing his own custom gadgets.

6. Best STEM Lego Toy for 11-Year-Olds

LEGO Submarine Building Kit

LEGO Submarine Building Kit

Pros

  • It is compatible with other LEGO kits
  • It comes with a miniature display stand
  • It features 4 configurations

Cons

  • It comes with stickers but they are too small to apply to the characters

STEM relatedness – This LEGO submarine comes with four mini-figures, two rotating propellers, and four rotating periscopes. It is inspired by a 1968 movie and is an authentic replica of the Yellow Submarine. Though it’s not a traditional programmable STEM toy, it helps enhance your child’s planning skills and teaches her to concentrate and focus. There are more than 500 pieces in the package that offers your child with

Entertainment Value – Besides its authentic look, this toy is great for imaginative play and storytelling. Not only can your child pretend to be a heroic mariner, but he can also display the final assembly in his room as a decoration.

Overall – This submarine toy is great for children who are not yet ready for programmable or coding robotics STEM toys. It’s simple, stylish, and is every bit of fun.

7. Best Telescope for 11-Year-Olds

Gskyer Telescope

Gskyer Telescope

Pros

  • It is lightweight and easy to carry and store
  • It comes with a phone holder and can be controlled by phones
  • It comes with three lenses with different magnifications

Cons

  • It comes with a tripod but it can be wobbly

STEM relatedness – Help your kid enters into the world of stargazing with an overwhelming experience of Gskyer Telescope. This affordable, high-quality telescope gives crisp image quality and has high magnification power. That what makes it a fantastic STEM toy for your young astronomers. It is compact and portable. Therefore, your young explorer can enjoy its unlimited benefits with friends during an outdoor voyage.

Entertainment Value – With this great tool, your kid can enjoy breathtaking sights of the stars and the universe. During the day, your child can use it to explore land spaces. The magnification of the lenses ranges from 3x to 120x, perfect to see star arrangements as well as wild lives.

Overall -The Gskyer Telescope is a fun-filled STEM toy for 11-year-olds who are fascinated by the universe. It helps your child become more curious and observant.

8. Best STEM Board Game for 11-Year-Olds

Math Board Game by Kitki

Math Board Game by Kitki

Pros

  • It enhances a child’s creativity and visual design skills
  • It reinforces a child’s understanding of geometry
  • It comes with reference cards and a colored manual

Cons

  • The sticks can come out from the board easily

STEM relatedness – This award-winning STEM game is designed to help kids learn geometry. On top of teaching basic math concepts, this toy prompts your child to plan and use strategies. Many homeschooling parents found this board game challenging and educational

Entertainment Value – The Math Board Game by Kitki is easy to get started but can be fairly complex when your opponent uses strategies. It is even more fun when playing with family members. This Scrabble-like game will be a blast for children who are into maths or want to become better at maths.

Overall – This challenging board game is excellent for understanding geometry concepts and how angles and polygons work. Though if your child may lose interest quickly if he is not a “math person”.

9. Best Smart Circuit for 11-Year-Olds

Smart Circuit by SmartLab

Smart Circuit by SmartLab

Pros

  • It features more than 50 projects and can create 3D builds
  • It can turn into sophisticated games and personal gadgets
  • It teaches kids how to use electrical components

Cons

  • Some configurations need more than two hands.

STEM Relatedness – With its snap-together baseboards, diverse accessories such as sound and light modules, jumper wires, and a microprocessor, this toy is a great electrical engineering kit for 11-year-olds. What’s more, your child can learn about conductance, microprocessors, ROM, and RAM. These important concepts are essential for learning computer science in the future.

Entertainment Value – This toy allows your child to make his own sophisticated games and custom gadgets. For example, it can turn into an electronic rooster and conduct a magnificent DJ light show. It will be a huge hit because there is no end to this toy. Once your child finishes the 50 provided designs, he can run wild with his imagination and make anything he wants.

Overall – Overall, this smart circuits kit is an amazing option for parents who wants their kids to explore through hands-on experiments.

10. Best STEM Race Car for 11-Year-Olds

Air Power Racer Vehicle

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Pros

  • It doesn’t require batteries or motor
  • It teaches kids air dynamics
  • It features a safety valve to ensure that the air tank is not over-pressurized

Cons

  • It can be quite difficult for some 11-year-olds

STEM relatedness – This cool-looking STEM kit can provide your child valuable insight into compressed air propulsion. Though it may be a bit difficult to assemble, operating the final race vehicle is quite straight forward. Your child will learn how to read an air meter and how air can power an object to move forward.

Entertainment Value – We recommend this toy for kids who are confident and are comfortable with challenges. It may take up to 5 hours to put together. Many kids also need parents’ help to complete the final assembly. So be ready to act as an instructor as well as a teammate.

Overall – This high-rated power racer vehicle is a fairly advanced STEM toy designed for seasoned STEM toy players. It is one of the best STEM toys for 11-year-olds who are well-versed in assembling.

Finally

The world is constantly changing around us and technology is the main driving force behind it. Utilizing the best STEM toys for 11-year-olds can help them develop a better understanding of the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Besides learning these objects, your child will also become a more logical and creative thinker.