Are you searching for the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds? As kids get ready for elementary school, many parents feel the pressure to prepare their children in the best way possible.
The best STEM toys for 5-year-olds can be wonderful resources to get preschoolers acquainted with some difficult subjects such as engineering and math. They also give your child a head start academically and boost his confidence.
In this article, we will list the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds that are entertaining, educational, and can help improve their academic performances.
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Best STEM Toys for 5-Year-Olds
1. Best STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds Who Loves Marble Runs
Marble Run Starter by Marble Genius
Why We Love It?
- It allows an unlimited number of configurations
- It promotes logical reasoning and understanding of spatial relations
- It is a winner of multiple Dr. Toy’s awards
Overview – When it comes to the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds, marble run puzzles are a must-have. We recommend Marble Run Starter because it comes with 130 pieces of various components including split tracks and bumper ramps. Your 5-year-old can build lots of custom structures.
STEM Value – Playing with this marble run set can help 5-year-olds develop a better understanding of basic physics and how gravity works. While connecting the parts together, your child is encouraged to think logically and use creativity.
2. Best STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds to Learn Structural Engineering
City Engineering and Design Building Set
Why We Love It?
- It comes with 89 easy-to-assemble buildable pieces
- It comes with 10 instructional cards to provide activity ideas
- It helps strengthen 5-year-olds’ hand-eye coordination
Overview – If your 5-year-old is into engineering and construction, this City Engineering and Design Building Set is an excellent choice. This set comes with color-coded pieces to allow your child to explore common structures such as bridges, towers, and cranes. For beginners, it comes with 10 activity cards so that your child can follow along.
STEM Value – Playing with this construction set can familiarize your child with construction components and how a complex structure is built. While following the activity cards, your 5-year-old learns to focus and practices how to read and follow instructions. It is one of the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds to learn design thinking.
3. Best STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds Who Loves Legos
Why We Love It?
- It’s a multi-vehicle Lego set for pretend play
- Your child can launch the airplanes into the air
- It’s an interactive STEM toy that encourages imagination
Overview – This City Air Race Plane Set is the best STEM toy for 5-year-old Lego lovers. Featuring 2 helicopters and a stunt aircraft, this Lego set teaches basic physics and mechanical engineering through pretend play. Your child can launch each aircraft into the air by pulling the cord.
STEM Value – Not all STEM toys have to ask a child to build something. Imaginative play is an important way to improve a child’s imagination and creativity. This Lego set prompts your child to make up a logical scenario and carry out a hypothetical mission. It’s one of the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds to expand on their existing Lego collections.
4. Best Open-Ended STEM Toys for 5-Year-Olds
100-Piece Gear Set by Learning Resources
Why We Love It?
- It is an open-ended toy to boost a child’s creativity
- It improves a child’s dexterity, which is important for writing and typing
- It teaches 5-year-olds cause and effects
Overview – Some parents prefer open-ended toys because they don’t define what a child can build. Rather, it allows a child to think out of the box and be original. This 100-Piece Gear Set is one of the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds to make structures using their own imagination. Besides gears, this set also comes with axles, interlocking bases, and an activity guide.
STEM Value – This gear set invites your child to come up with his own design. Therefore, encourages trial and error and experimentation. Your 5-year-old can learn basic concepts of mechanics, cause and effect, as well as how to utilize this knowledge for custom applications.
5. Best Home-Schooling STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds
Mental Blox Critical Thinking Game
Why We Love It?
- It is a fun brain-game toy to improve a child’s analytical skills
- There are 20 activity cards to prompt your child to solve problems
- It helps 5-year-olds build confidence
Overview – We love this Mental Box Critical Thinking Game because it is an interactive toy set that invites 5-year-olds to solve problems. It comes with 20 plastic blocks in different shapes, colors, and patterns. There are also 20 activity cards with problems for your child to solve. It’s a wonderful set for parents to use for teaching kids at home.
STEM Value – Unlike many other STEM toys, this brain-game set allows a 5-year-old to progress step by step through analyzing and solving problems. This process can help a child build up confidence and help parents double-check a child’s understanding of certain subjects.
6. Best STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds Who Loves Games
RockIt Twist Learning Game System
Why We Love It?
- It is a convenient hand-held system that doesn’t require cleaning and maintenance
- It is a better alternative to video games and tablets
- It is both fun and educational
Overview – For 5-year-olds who are into video games and prefer constant visual feedback, the RockIt Twist Learning Games System is a great choice. It is a learning system that uses 12 preloaded games to prompt your child to practice reading, math, and problem-solving. This device has 8 controls and can be used in different orientations.
STEM Value – This game system is not just for fun, but to teach math, reading, and words in an interactive way. It also teaches spelling, opposites, and how to follow instructions. It’s one of the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds who love game consoles.
7. Best STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds to Learn Arts
Why We Love It?
- It improves 5-year-olds’ spatial awareness and fine motor skills
- It teaches arts and creativity by asking a child to build animals
- It trains a child to pay attention to details
Overview – As “STEAM” becomes more and more popular, parents start to search for toys that can improve a child’s ability to express themselves in art. The Animal Jigsaw Puzzle is a fantastic tool for 5-year-olds to start learning arts. This set comes with 36 wooden pieces and 60 pattern cards for a child to build animals. Your child can also go off the instruction and build custom designs.
STEM Value – Through building the animals, your child learns to read instructions, pay attention to details, identify shapes and patterns, and piece together the puzzles correctly. It’s a fun way to train 5-year-olds to stay focused, which is an essential quality in learning any STEM subject in the future.
8. Best Magnetic STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds
Why We Love It?
- The pieces can snap together through built-in magnetics
- Your child can build 2D and 3D shapes
- It’s compatible with all other Magna Tiles and Picasso Tiles
Overview – For parents who are looking for the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds that can last many years to come, we recommend the Magna-Tiles 100 pieces set. As an open-ended toy, Magna-Tiles come with translucent magnetic shapes that can build magnificent structures. It’s a great tool for 5-year-olds to express their creativity and make their own toys for pretend play.
STEM Value – Magna-Tiles are already popular among preschoolers because kids can build anything from them. Your child can use also use the structures he makes to learn math and science. Additionally, your child can use the garage door or refrigerator as his playground thanks to the built-in magnets. If you are looking for cheaper alternatives to Magna-Tiles, you can consider Picasso Tiles.
9. Best STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds to Learn Geography
Why We Love It?
- It teaches 5-year-olds all countries, capital cities, and landmarks
- It features built-in quizzes and fun facts
- It can be hung on a wall or be placed on the floor
Overview – The best way to teach 5-year-olds geography is through visual presentation. As a multiple-award winner, this Interactive World Map shows all 92 countries in the world, their capital cities, fun facts, languages, and famous landmarks. In addition, the built-in quizzes can help your child validate her knowledge and makes learning more fun.
STEM Value – Having the basic knowledge of world geography and culture distribution can help broaden a child’s horizon and help him gain a big picture of human society. This interactive map is one of the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds to develop curiosity in other cultures.
10. Best STEM Toy for 5-Year-Olds to Learn Human Anatomy
Why We Love It?
- It uses interactive teaching method to help kids learn human parts
- It helps strengthen a child’s visual skills and memory
- It features fun quizzes for preschoolers to learn body parts, organs, and bones.
Overview – The My Body i-Poster consists of 4 pictures of human anatomy – body, muscle, organs, and bones. Your child can click on the words to hear the pronunciation. There are also quizzes to double-check your child’s learning progress.
STEM Value – Besides Engineering, Technology, Engineering, and Math, knowing our own body is also an important skill, especially if your 5-year-old is ambitious to be a physician. This interactive poster can familiarize your child with the basic medical terms and how the human body is structured. It’s one of the best STEM toys for 5-year-olds who want to become a doctor.
How To Find the Best STEM Toys for 5-Year-Olds
At 5 years, most kids are ready for elementary schools. During this year, your child will be able to count 10 or more things, draw a simple picture, and make copies of geometric shapes.
The best STEM toys for 5-year-olds should teach the following subjects that are essential in preparing them for the upcoming school years.
Summary
At 5 years, kids are still learning through playing with toys and interacting with others. The best STEM Toys for 5-year-olds can turn playtime into learning time naturally. They offer a wide range of subjects for pre-school aged kids to explore and experiment. You may even find that your child is surprisingly talented in a particular STEM subject!
Cecilia Yeung is a successful entrepreneur and product researcher. She has a background in psychology and children’s education. As a working mother of two, she loves to write about children’s education and development.
