Educational toys that support STREAM learning

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We are huge fans of educational toys. It is great that the boys learn and develop their skills whilst having fun. We especially like toys that support STREAM learning as they enhance everyday learning.

What is STREAM?

You may have already heard of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) toys which are designed to introduce and educate children on those topics. Following the success of STEM learning STEAM was developed by adding Arts to help children benefit from creativity and innovation. Another layer has since been added to create STREAM which adds in Reading as a core element to provide a well rounded learning experience.  Combining arts and reading with STEM makes everyday learning more engaging and exciting.

As we love STREAM toys here are a few of our favourite toys that support one or more the elements of STREAM learning.

OJO Atomic Force Chemistry Board Game

Created by OJO who make smart games for future innovators the Atomic Force Chemistry board game (RRP £16.99) is a fun yet educational family friendly game for children aged 6+ years. The game supports STREAM learning.

Bringing the wonderful world of chemistry to a fun game so that children can be introduced to scientific concepts, OJO have simplified complicated concepts for young children to understand. 

The Atomic Force board game teaches fundamental chemistry concepts. Players learn how to build simple elements and compounds for everyday materials with atomic building blocks!

My Discovery Telescope 

The Thames and Kosmos My Discovery Telescope (RRP £16.99) is a science and discovery toy from the Nature Discovery range. Providing scientific fun-factor the telescope supports STEM learning.

When there are footprints on the moon, the sky's never the limit. Designed for entry- level astronomers (6+ years), this super-cool telescope is a must for little ones wanting to get closer to the stars.

Equipped with a 12x optical magnification and a soft shell ocular lens cover (eye piece) to provide greater comfort, young researchers are able to view the stars at night, watch wildlife, or become seagoing pirates as they explore the far-away universe closer.

Trends Science Mad Chemistry Lab Set

Perfect for budding scientists aged 10+ years, the Trends Science Mad Chemistry Lab (RRP £29.99) is an educational, hands-on set that teaches kids about the wonderful world of chemistry.

Thanks to the well-equipped laboratory set children can discover the wonders of chemistry. The set includes an excellent selection of 10 different chemicals plus a real methylated spirit burner. 

Perform 80+ safety-tested, themed experiments, all clearly planned and set out within the detailed instruction manual. The set allows children to understand how different chemicals substances behave and using the spirit burner children can learn about fascinating chemical reactions involving heat.

The Trends Science Mad Chemistry Lab is the perfect starter kit for any young scientist and the set supports and encourages STEM learning.

Space Race book

Author Ben Hubbard’s Space Race hardback book (RRP £12.99) is 96 pages of educational and informative look at the race to space. Featuring a mix of photographs and illustrations the detail in the book is exquisite and the facts interesting for kids wanting to learn more about space.

The innovative book features augmented reality technology that brings the book to life in a fun, interesting, clever and new way.

Download the free app to bring space exploration to life like no other book. See the Apollo 11 lunar module, the ISS Space Station and the Curiosity Mars rover in close-up 3D, and watch the book come to life when video clips of NASA footage play 'on the page' when viewed through your smartphone or tablet.

This richly illustrated, immersive experience tells the awe-inspiring story of space exploration, looking back in time to the first satellites that were sent into orbit and forward to future missions to Mars. Photographic features highlight key spacecraft such as Vostock 1, the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle and the Hubble Space Telescope.

Brainstorm 450X Microscope

See the world in close-up with this illuminated 450X Microscope (RRP £29.99) by Brainstorm. The microscope provides 100x, 300x and 450x magnification.

The microscope comes with 3 prepared slides, each with 3 specimens such as algae, plastic and synthetic fibres. Thanks to the useful booklet you can learn how to prepare your own slides, just like in a laboratory. With over 40 pieces the microscope comes with blank slides, a petri dish and magnifier. 

View the prepared slides magnified up 450 times! Booklet explains how you can prepare your own slides, just like in a laboratory. Perfect for the young scientist.

Snap-n-Learn™ Rainbow Owls

Snap together and pull apart these Snap-n-Learn Rainbow Owls (RRP £17.00) from Learning Resources.

Encourage young children to master early STEM learning skills in a snap with these colourful two-piece owls. Introducing colour, shape and number recognition to children whilst building fine motor skills by matching each owl to their correct number and colour’s, there’s endless fun and lots of learning to be had!

This set of 10 friendly two-piece owl toys comes in 10 vivid shades drawn from all the colours of the rainbow - learn rosy red, vivid violet, and every shade in between! Sized just right for little hands, each manipulative owl pulls apart and snaps together easily, and encourages mix-and-match play while building fine motor skills with every snap! Sort the owls by warm and cool colours, arrange them in numerical order, or practise shape recognition with the colourful figures printed on each owl's tummy - these owls are colour toys, number toys, and sorting toys all in one!

Green Science

Green Science (RRP £19.99) by Science4You is an educational and scientific toy that supports STEAM learning and which aims to help you to be a true Earth-friend while making fun projects using old materials. The kit comes with a variety of products to help you become an eco-warrior such as biodegradable flower pots, green science puzzle, watercress seeds, woollen string, wooden peg, and so much more.

It is the first plastic free, ecological and biodegradable toy which invites you to enter the great mission that we all have: how to help save the planet!

With Green Science you can find out more about renewable energies and how you can take advantage of them to build a windmill, boat or solar oven to cook delicious marshmallows! Learn how to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover Used Materials to Build scientific toys with lots of fun!

Ultimate Gross Science

This extremely gross science set will help you to explore and understand how the human body functions. The Ultimate Gross Science (RRP £22.99) from John Adams supports National Curriculum learning and is safe, educational and fun!

Explore extremely gross science and learn how your body works with over 12 really yucky scientific experiments. Learn how farts are produced and make a bouncing poo! Understand digestion and how your bladder pees; experiment with slime and make your own disgusting pus ball; make fake blood and see it congeal; plus create a vomiting skull and much more!

Safe, educational and fun, the kit comes with clear instructions about how to conduct the experiments at home, as well as the method and science behind what you’re doing. The kit comes with a variety of items to aid science experiments such as safety goggles, bladder model, vomit powder and fart putty powder plus some activities require additional household ingredients and objects such as apple juice, tights and bread.

Hot Wires

Hot Wires (RRP £49.99) by John Adams is the ultimate in plug and play electronics set. Simply snap together the component blocks and discover 100 action packed experiments involving light, sound and movement. Safe, educational and fun the kit supports National Curriculum and STEM learning.

Build a real flying disk, a working FM radio with automatic station selection, a lie detector to test your friends, a burglar alarm to keep your valuables safe, sound effects and lots more! The colourful, easy to use instruction booklet guides you into the wonderful world of electronics and how to use the kit contents that includes antenna coil, music IC, resistors and LEDs.

Lamaze 3-in-1 Airtivity Center™

The Lamaze 3-in-1 Airtivity Center™ (RRP: £69.99) is suitable from six months right up to three years old. The first of its kind, unique design engages little ones through air powered play.

This award winning, fun and interactive toy develops alongside little ones. The Lamaze 3-in-1 Airtivity Center™ is the perfect educational development toy that provides everyday sensory play activities for STEAM learning, from sitting to standing play, in an innovative way, making it the perfect choice for any parent with curious little ones.

With more than eight different ways to play with Lamaze 3-in-1 Airtivity Center™, each has been designed to encourage different areas of a child’s growth including visual development, tactile processing, fine and gross motor skills, an understand of cause and effect as well as problem solving.

Watch as your little ones become transfixed with the centre’s magical sea creatures as they “swim” around the ocean-themed table, all powered by air, or enjoy hitting the table’s bubbles at the right time to be rewarded with fun lights, music and surprise ocean sounds. The happy whale at the center of this activity center has a spinning spout of “water” too! 

Ultimate Sparkle Science

The Ultimate Sparkle Science (RRP £22.75) set from John Adams encourages children to explore the wonders of science and supports STEM learning. This super sparkly chemistry set will help your child to explore and understand lots of different scientific concepts. It supports National Curriculum learning and is safe, educational and fun!

Measure, mix, pour and explore with 10 sparkling, fascinating chemistry experiments Make glittery bath jellies; grow a sparkly crystal geode; create a strawberry scented fragrance jar for your bedroom; experiment with slime and light up your creations in the nightlight and make your own Mystic Ball.

Comes with clear instructions about how to conduct the experiments at home, as well as the method and science behind what you’re doing. The kit comes with items such as mystic ball dice, slime powder and nightlight, and it requires additional household ingredients not included such as tablet salt and washing up liquid.

Creatto

Creatto (RRP £10) available from Thames & Kosmos is a simple yet versatile building system that consists of just two primary components that can be woven together into countless 3D creations. 

The durable and flexible plastic tiles interlock quickly and easily for all skill levels; no additional materials or hardware required! Each Creatto kit includes assembly instructions for four different configurations, but the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. The same two types of building components are in all Creatto kits; combine pieces from different kits to build colourful, unique creations! Add strings of coloured LED light to illuminate your works of art from the inside out.

It encourages self-expression, develops fine motor skills, promotes creativity and an understanding of building and construction using early maths and science skills.

Bright Basics™ Slide & Splash Spouts

The Bright Basics™ products available from Learning Resources will encourage toddlers to learn through familiar nursery rhymes as they encourage little ones to play and grow. The Slide & Splash Spouts (RRP £18.00) brings the iconic nursery rhyme "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider" to life for fun learning.

Support STEM learning from an early age with this colourful bath time activity set as early learners engineer their own ball run creations. It encourages early maths and science skills as children fit these pipes together, helps develop fine motor skills as little ones fit the pipes together and introduces cause and effect from an early age.

Design & Drill® Robot

Develop creativity while supporting STEM learning in children with this novelty, 3D, Design & Drill® Robot (RRP £13.50) from Learning Resources.

The sturdy, free-standing robot features a swiveling head, arms and upper body and comes with 15 plastic bolts in a variety of colours that can be screwed into the robot.  The toy screwdriver helps develop motor skills and the kit encourages children's creativity as they secure the colourful bolts and stickers onto the robot model. Learning can be extended by encouraging imaginative play activities. 

Artie 3000™

Artie 3000 the Coding Robot (RRP £70.00) for kids programming is the award-winning coding robot from Learning Resources that introduces children to real programming languages. 

Artie puts the “A” in STEAM, making coding relatable and fun for kids. You design the code and Artie 3000 draws the lines. Learn to code and get drawing with STEAM-style robotics to create visual masterpieces. If you can code it, Artie 3000 can draw it. With pre-programmed designs, beginners can start coding right away with Drag & Drop then advance their coding skills with Remote Control, Point & Click, Blockly, Snap!, Python and JavaScript coding languages.

Trends Discovery Digital Walkie Talkies 

The Discovery Digital Walkie Talkies (£24.99) are lightweight long-range walkie-talkies perfect for outdoor explorations, secret missions and fun adventures!

Suitable for children 4 years + are lightweight and feature a handy belt clip. Ideal for outdoor escapades the 2 digital walkie-talkies work up to a range of 3km and feature a ringing call alert, press to talk buttons, night light and LED digital display.

The award winning (Creative Play Awards - Winner 2017) walkie-talkies from Trends support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning. They also inspire role play, spark imaginative play and encourage play with friends and/or siblings.

OJO Which Way? Game

The OJO Which Way? coding board game (RRP £24.99) is a new and exciting strategy game that teaches coding skills for 4-8 year olds. 

The innovative coding game makes learning key coding skills fun for children. Playing the game teaches children 4 top coding skills so that they learn to define the problem, plan the solution, build the program and then test it.

Who can help Messy (from CBeebies TV show, Messy Goes to OKIDO) to visit all his friends across the map first? The game features a magic, self-driving car that works with the magnetic tiles.

Not only does it make learning coding fun, the game also improves problem solving skills, builds confidence, improves communication and provides fulfillment and a sense of achievement.

MathLink® Cubes Numberblocks 1-10 Activity Set

Meet the Numberblocks, stars of the award-winning CBeebies series! Now children can build their own Numberblocks characters using award-winning MathLink Cubes Numberblocks 1-10 Activity Set (RRP £20.00). 

This special edition MathLink Cubes set brings Numberblocks learning to life as children see how numbers work and master key early learning math skills through hands-on discovery and play. The activities have been developed to help children recognise numbers, learn to count, add and subtract, discover division and multiplication, and develop problem-solving skills. 

MathLink Cubes are durable stackable cubes that are easy for little hands to stack, connect and twist apart.Follow 30 hands-on activities linked to the episodes, and play along as they watch episodes and learn. Children can also use the colourful Character Cards to learn more about each number.

Stomp Rocket Original

The award winning Stomp Rocket Super High Performance Stomp Kit (RRP £12.99) from @stomprocketuk provides hours of outdoor fun, supports STEM learning and encourages kids to get moving.

100% kid powered: Run, jump and STOMP to launch these rockets up to 400 feet in the air -- that's longer than a football field! The Stomp Rocket Original includes a Stomp Launcher and 3 Super High Performance Rockets. No batteries required; super easy, fast assembly and great for year round fun to get kids away from screen time and more active outside.

The Stomp Rocket Original helps children learn concepts such as gravity, trajectory, force, power of air, cause and effect through fun play. For added learning pair with Stomp Rocket Science book and get kids interested in STEM subjects early.

Stomp Rocket® BLO-Rockets

Stomp Rocket BLO-Rockets (RRP £14.99) promotes STEM learning, encourages exercise and limiting screen time as well as hours of safe fun!

Just blow to launch the rockets into the air, no batteries or assembling required. The kit comes with 2 rocket launchers and 4 foam stomp rockets. 

Enjoy hours of fun with the 4 games - Catch A Rocket; Distance Launch; Target Practice; Dodge Rockets. It offers year round fun and can be used outdoors and indoors.

Sensors Alive

Sensors Alive (RRP £60) from Thames & Kosmos is a highly innovative, gamified sensor physics lab that helps introduce and demystify abstract physics phenomena like sound, heat and light.

The core of this science kit is an app-based video game in which you use real-world sensor data that you collect from your environment to generate a diverse array of creatures. 

In a pretend bioengineering lab inside the game, kids play the role of scientists who use readings taken from three physical sensor pods outside the game. The readings are then transferred into the game via the base station. The sensor data dictates the different attributes your bioengineered creatures will have. For example, if you take a low temperature measurement, the creature generated will have long hair to keep warm. Or, a low light level captured by the light sensor might yield a creature with huge eyes to see better in the dark, while a high sound level reading might result in a creature with tiny ears. 

Continue to use the sensors to capture data that lets you care for your creatures, feed them, play with them, create habitats for them, and generate more creatures — all the while developing an intuitive sense of the different measurements you are taking with the sensors. You will gain experience in measuring light levels, volumes, and temperatures with the three sensor pods, and learn about the physics behind light, sound, and heat. The kit contains three sensor pods, base station, app, and quick-start poster. Requires a tablet or smartphone running recent versions of iOS or Android.

Ubongo!

Ubongo! (RRP £34) from Thames & Kosmos is a fast-paced, addictive, and easy-to-learn geometric puzzle game. Players race against the timer and against each other to solve a puzzle of interlocking shapes. The faster you solve the puzzle, the more gems you get. The player with the most valuable gem treasure after nine rounds of solving puzzles wins!

Each player receives a set of 12 polyominos — geometric shapes formed of equal-size squares joined edge to edge in different arrangements. At the start of each round, each player gets a new puzzle panel. A roll of the die determines which polyominos you must use to perfectly fill in the empty spaces on the puzzle panel. Any players who complete the puzzle within the time limit yell out “Ubongo!” and grab a gem at random from the bag. The fastest player also gets a blue gem and the second fastest an amber gem. Each gem colour is worth a different amount of points. After nine rounds, the player with the most valuable gem collection wins.

The game supports STEM learning and not only does luck come into it but children have to use quick thinking and develop their strategy skills and spatial reasoning.

Rainbow Fractions Board game 

The Rainbow Fractions board game (RRP £18.00) from Green Owl Toys is a 19 piece wooden jigsaw puzzle in 7 vibrant colours of the rainbow. 

The board game is based on arranging all the parts in such a way as to form a rainbow.  Each next  rainbow colour increases in the number of pieces to make up that colour.  The wooden educational game creates a perfect setting for learning about fractions and colours. 

Maths game in a pyramid

This pyramid maths game (RRP £12.00) from Green Owl Toys is a challenging but fun self-correcting maths game for kids featuring 49 wooden triangle tiles.

Use the small triangles to make up a larger triangle or pyramid by solving the sums. Adorned on the wooden triangle tiles are maths sums and answers. The sides of another triangle only match up if you solve the correct maths multiplication or division. The tiles are double sided so one maths game is for multiplication and the other maths game is for division. 

Maths game of number puzzles

This beautiful maths game of number puzzles (RRP £45.00) from Green Owl Toys evokes a love of numbers in children and helps then learn colours, number tracing and fractions.

The set comes in a box in natural wood filled with a great counting toy to introduce numbers 0 - 9.  This cool math game has a tray for each number which a child can trace with their finger. The tray is then filled up with the colourful pieces to make a number creating a lovely number puzzle. The counting toy develops further into learning fractions. Each number has the same number of pieces to create fraction games.

Code Gamer

Code Gamer (RRP £70) is an Arduino coding game and workshop by Thames & Kosmos that allows children to game, code and make.

The experiment kit allows you to program an Arduino compatible microcontroller. It also comes with 4 sensors - light, sound, temperature and motion - that you use to interact with the game. Code gamer also offers game-based introduction to writing code. 

GAMING - Connect the physical and digital worlds! Use the gamepad to play through 15 fun game levels on your tablet. Plug one of the four sensor bots into the gamepad to activate its special powers. Plus enjoy Level Editor to design and create your own game levels, share them, and access other players’ levels.

CODING - Level by level, learn the basics of the Arduino programming language!

MAKING - Apply your new programming knowledge in cool projects! Enter the digital maker’s world and unleash your creativity and use the sensors in new applications to bring your own ideas to life.

Little World Builder 

Little World Builder helps children embark on journeys of discovery and play, building and learning about world buildings that changed history.

Little World Builder are specially curated subscription boxes that teach children about travel, architecture, buildings and culture whilst inspiring creativity and encouraging screen-free fun.

The World Building Edition kits  are available in classic (RRP from £16.60 per kit) and mini (RRP from £11 per kit). You can select the length of your adventure from 1 off gift, monthly, 3 months or 6 months. 

The first introductory kit is a Builder Kit. This is an introductory kit to prepare your child for the building journey, because it contains all the tools and materials for them to start off, as they subsequently work through our themed building kits.

The Builder Kit contains a yellow Tool Box (Classic) or Zippa Bag (Mini), wall-sized World map, scrapbook over, welcome postcard from Hailey & Caesar, fact card, activity card and fun sticker.

Following the Builder Kit in the first month the following kits sent (depending on subscription) are World Building Themed Kits. There are 6 world building themed kits in this edition –  Big Ben, Taj Mahal, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Hall of Supreme Harmony, Empire State Building and Sydney Opera House. Each following themed kit contains a postcard from Hailey & Caesar, fact cards, activity card, admission tickets, scrapbook page and scrapbook stickers, 3D building puzzle, personalised Award Certificate and Building Themed Craft ( not available in Mini edition).

Tweet Beats

Make your own music with Tweet Beats! 

Tweet Beats (RRP £20.00) from John Adams puts the Art in STEAM learning as it encourages children to express themselves with music.

The Tweet Beats love music and they all have their own style and sound! Place a Tweet Beat in the tree on 1 of the 4 branches and right away you’ll hear music. Each Tweet Beat has their own beat, bass, melody and vocal in their own music style. Each bird has 4 unique sounds! By combining the Tweet Beats you can create your own songs! Switch birds to make the most beautiful Tweet Beat combinations and listen to the coolest music!

It comes with a Tweet Beats music tree and 4 Tweet Beats characters; Beach Bobby, Jenny, The Kid and MC Jay. More Tweet Beats are available to buy separately as 3 packs such as Diva and Pengy (RRP £10.00) for even more music combinations!

Aquadoodle Super Rainbow Deluxe

Let your creative imagination go wild with the new Aquadoodle Super Rainbow Deluxe (RRP £20.00) from Tomy. The toy supports STEAM learning as it allows children to be creative and develop their artistic skills.

Simply fill the Aquadoodle pen with ordinary tap water, run the nib over the magic mat and see the colours appear!

Any water that does run off the mat, runs clear. No mess, no stains, nothing to worry about. As your drawings dry, designs fade away, ready for the mat to be used again, over and over again. When you need to, just refill the Aquadoodle pen with water and go again!

Included in the set is a special paintbrush that lets you make broader strokes, as well as three stampers for added mess-free fun.

GoCube Connected Puzzle Cube Game

GoCube (RRP £95.00) is the vintage Rubik’s cube reimagined and redesigned for the 21st century. GoCube is an app-enabled speed Cube, that allows ANYONE to learn how to solve this (unsolvable) classic puzzle in a fun and interactive way.

Improve your skills; track your progress; and compete with friends and cubers around the world. It is equipped with advanced sensors to track and measure activity, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to track the cube’s orientation and connects through Bluetooth 5.0 to the companion GoCube app. 

GoCube is made of the highest quality materials, encompassing light indications, and a magnetic speed cube mechanism, enabling a whole new fast and smooth playing experience. GoCube brings a lot of fun and valuable time to your family, at your home, or while on-the-go. Great for all ages and capabilities, the GoCube is a great STEM toy for speed and competition.

Pebble Gear™ Kids Tablets 

Pebble Gear™ Kids Tablets (RRP £99.99) combine education, information, inspiration and imagination. Helping kids take their first steps into tech the Pebble Gear tablets are great STREAM toys as they introduce children to technology, have maths and science inspired apps and help support a child’s reading and writing with e-books and apps.

Learn, play and discover in one place with Pebble Gear™ thanks to exciting games, apps and e-books to spark imagination and hours of adventure plus learn skills to support developmental milestones.

Pebble Gear tablets are available in Toy Story 4, Frozen 2, Disney Cars and Disney Mickey and Friends. Each of the themed tablets feature exclusive themed apps, games and e-books to make learning fun. Access to over 500 additional games & apps in GamesStore Junior where there are no in-app purchases, zero ads and full parental control.

* This guide contains items gifted for this post, items we have previously received and items we have bought ourselves *