10 Best Science Gifts for Kids this Year | Reviews and Recommendations

I Best Science Gifts for Kids Aged 5 – 10

In this category, we selected the best science gifts for kids that appeal to kindergarten and school children – according to families and teachers.

Young Sheldon’s quirks aside, these science kits make ideal gifts for the little curious members in your family. We have to say, many of these items made us put our thinking caps and lab coats on, so feel free to join the party and make some science with the kids as well!

1 Learning Resources Double-Sided Magnetic Human Body Science Gift Idea

Do you have a child who always says they want to be a doctor when they grow up? This is how it begins! Put together, the model helps the child achieve a realistically detailed body of more than 3 feet high. If a child feels inspired to follow in the footsteps of famous doctors that changed and saved the world or simply feels that curing diseases is the meaning of life, help her understand better what medicine is about.

Speaking about this particular science gift for kids, remember that you can then display it on the side of your fridge, as the magnetic pieces are excellent tools to spark the kid’s curiosity about the physics of magnets as well. Even if your child is too young to learn anatomy in school, the model is a great start to help her stay ahead in class.

Why choose the Double-Sided Magnetic Human Body Science Gift?

What better way to teach small children anatomy and biology than with a human body kit containing a skeletal system on one side and most major organs and muscle groups on the other? The Double-Sided Magnetic Human Body from Learning Resources provides the child and the family with plenty of fun learning and a robust introduction to biological sciences.

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• Parents say this oversized puzzle is particularly engaging for the 5 to 8 age group, helping kids understand the human anatomy and build their own body perception;
• This learning resource comes with 17 magnetic body parts the child can assemble as an oversized puzzle. It also comes with diagrams for children to name and label.
• All the pieces are sturdy and can take plenty of handling.

Verdict

The first installment on this best science gifts for kids list is an excellent tool to introduce the little ones to anatomy. For those children who say they want to become doctors, it makes a solid step into medical sciences, boosting their curiosity, but also their own body perception. As a parent, you can also use the body model to teach the child how to better identify and express local pain.

2 Thames and Kosmos Mini Volcano Science Gift Idea

While the manufacturer labels this science gift for kids as an 7+ item, we are sure younger kids have some fun with the basic chemistry and physics underlying this scientific experiment.

The Thames and Kosmos Mini Volcano works well with smaller children under adult supervision and can turn into a crowd favorite at home, in the classroom, or at kids’ parties. The idea behind it is simple: assemble the volcano, use the ingredients, and make it go boom! Erupting volcanoes? Sign us in, please!

Why choose the Thames and Kosmos Mini Volcano Science Gift?

According to some parents, kids never get tired of blowing up the volcano. One parent stopped counting after the 100th eruption. In other words, you have an entertaining chemistry-teaching science gift. It also builds a child’s curiosity on the hard science of volcanoes, opening up a new field of discovery in geophysics, volcanology, geology, and more.
Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• All you need to make the volcano work are baking soda, vinegar, an empty water bottle, food coloring, and a few drops of liquid dish soap.
• Check out this volcanic experiment to learn how to create the eruption.
• Children younger than 8 years old may need a bit of help from you.
• This science gift has an artistic component to it, as it allows the child to paint the volcano and make it visually appealing, therefore also stimulating their imagination.
• Red and yellow food coloring are perhaps the best ones to use to replicate lava.

Verdict

Is your child crazy about volcanoes or crazy sciences in general? Then you have no other choice than buying this volcano kit and have some fun with household items. The most important benefit here is that it introduces the child to hard sciences in a laidback manner, taking off the edge of difficult fields like chemistry and physics. You will soon have to buy more advanced volcano making kits if your little one falls in love with the science behind DIY eruptions. Since we are talking about out-of-the-box science, make sure you check out our guide on the best science kits for kids as well! You will find there a myriad of DIY experiments and learning instruments, from the craziest inventions to the most entertaining inventions for all ages!

3 4M Crystal Growing Experiment

Growing crystals, learning about geology, and have the beautiful gems on display for a lifetime at the same time?

Wow! Speaking about cools science gifts for kids, the 4M Crystal Growing Experiment is a gorgeous way to introduce kids to niche sciences, such as geology, gemology, Earth physics and chemistry.

Some say this science kit works best for kids 10+, but with a little help, your little scientist will rock first grade as well.

Why choose the 4M Growing Crystal Lab Science Gift?

Young children and older ones learn better and comprehend more when they see things happen with their own eyes. After all, experimentation is the mother of all scientific knowledge. The 4M Growing Crystal Lab allows them to grow their own crystals, understand the processes underlying their formation, and become more and more inquisitive when it comes to geology and related fields. Moreover, once they finish making all seven crystals, they can put them on a premium display.

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• You do not need to hunt for any other parts or ingredients to make the crystals, as the package contains everything.
• Choking hazard: not recommended for children under 3 years old.
• Do not use aluminum pots or cans to heat the water you need for crystal growth. For crystal-crystals, use distilled water and make sure it has no dust or impurities inside.
• Crystals may leach for a few days and drip on the light stand, so be ready to clean the stand until the crystals stabilize.
• Do not put the crystals under water if they are dusty.
• Read the instructions carefully and supervise small children during experiments, as you do not want them to put any of the ingredients in their mouths.
• Teach children patience, as most crystals need 7 to 10 days to grow.

Verdict

Colorful sparkling crystals to grow, facts sheets and learning resources, gorgeous displays, and plenty of interconnected sciences for the kid to discover – all from 4M to boot? There is no way you can say no to such science gift for kids and teens.

4 Klutz Lego Chain Reactions Craft Kit Science Gift Idea

Klutz and LEGO joined their revolutionary thinking skills to offer LEGO lovers a fun way to learn mechanics and chain reactions.

This particular science gift allows children to design and build 10 amazing moving machines (to toss the gum in the trash bin, deliver a message, annoy the dog, and keep the entire family on their toes) while making their first step into the science of engineering and architecture. It is one of the best science kits for kids that all children should have for both educational and entertaining purposes!

Why choose the Klutz Lego Chain Reactions Craft Kit Science Gift?

If you already have some LEGO bricks around the house, it is time for the child to step up the science game and build machines that spin, swing, pivot, roll, lift, and drop. While each machine is amazing in its own right, the fun resides in combining the machines to create incredible chain reactions. All in all, the Klutz LEGO Chain Reactions Craft Kit is the perfect way to introduce children to mechanics, architecture, and engineering in the most entertaining of manners.

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• One mom says she is not sure whether the kid or the husband has more fun with this science kit, so it seems this is one of the best science gifts for kids and their dads.
• Choking hazard: not recommended for children under 3 years old.
• You need plenty of LEGO pieces from your collection. The book offers suggestions on what you should add to make the machines work, but if this is your first shot at LEGO, you will have a bag of bricks to buy.

Verdict

If your kids are taking pride in their LEGO building skills and projects, then help them up their ante with this science-based gift. The Klutz Lego Chain Reactions Craft Kit is a fantastic introductory path in the fascinating world of engineering, physics, and creative building.

5 Playz Ridiculous Inventions Kit Science Gift Idea

We assume this is how Dexter started his laboratory. Your young Sheldon or Amy may not have a scientist’s lab yet, but after you offer what we consider one of the best science gifts for kids and preteens, you will have to make room for the Ridiculous Inventions Science Kit from Playz.

The package makes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics the coolest friends your child will have for a lifetime.

Why choose the Playz Ridiculous Inventions Kit Science Gift?

Kids and preteens with a penchant for hard sciences will have the time of their life with this kit. The smaller ones may need guidance, but children over 8 years old will have a huge smile on their faces every time they show you what they did and explain to you what they know. Since the kit covers many school subjects, you will see some grades improving as well.

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• The experiments work with a long list of ingredients and items. The good part is that you probably have them already in your pantry or you can buy them from the grocery store.
• You will also have to buy a couple of AA batteries.
• Encourages teamwork, so all the kids in the family will love taking part in the overall science and mathematics joy.
• From a scientific point of view, the kit allows children to learn and experiment with circuits, homemade boomerangs, magnetic force fields, spectrum rainbows, telegraphic messages, whirling windmills, levitating serpents, and robotic turtles to boot.

Verdict

The last installment on our best science gifts for kids aged 5 to 12 is so amazing, we want to buy one for ourselves as well.

If you have children with a penchant for all things tech, the Ridiculous Inventions kit is the best way to turn your young inventor into an A+ student aiming for a Physics Nobel Prize in the future, or at least for a Big League college education.

II Best Science Gifts for Kids and Teens 10 Years Old and Beyond

This second category of best science gifts for kids includes science kits and experimental “labs” dedicated to children over the age of 10 and spanning to meet the scientific thirst of high school and even college students with a penchant for hard sciences and technological applications. Let’s look at each science gift idea and see which is best for your tech savvy preteen or adolescent!

6 Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Solar Hydrogen Education Kit Science Gift Idea

The young scientists of today will become the prized illuminated minds we hope will change the future for all of us. If cutting-edge sciences are your preteen’s cup of tea, then the Solar Hydrogen Education Kit will satisfy and intensify curiosity and innovative mind.

Why choose the Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Solar Hydrogen Education Kit Science Gift?

Preteens and teens with a soft spot for tech and cutting-edge sciences will have a field day with this kit. The Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Solar Hydrogen Education science gift allows them to create renewable hydrogen with water and solar energy. The experiments include observing and creating the effect of heat, cooling, and shade on solar panels, electrolysis, and more.

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• The kit includes a small electric motor and a propeller blade to incentivize kids to build motorized applications for their futuristic solar energy storage devices.
• The kit also includes a complete curriculum on renewable energy, experiments’ guide, assembly guide, flash animations, and background history on solar technology.
• Some parents and teachers got so involved in the project that they used the kit until it broke. Fair warning, adults will love this as much as their children will.

Verdict

Most children today are more tech-savvy than their parents. Your future inventor and genius may one day change the world as we know it by finding clean energy sources and by building devices able to sustain us all without harming the planet. A hardcore young scientist certainly deserves this science gift to keep them busy for years.

7 Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst STEM Kit Science Gift Idea

Mixing electronics, robotics, physics, and plenty of fun, the Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst STEM Kit is a dream came true for young engineers. You will hear “Look, mom, the robot!” many times a day, but this is why you are even considering getting your future scientist such a gift, isn’t it? You probably know that some of the most famous names in STEM, engineering, math, and other hard sciences started early, so you should encourage your little one to begin exploring as early as possible.

Why choose the Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst STEM Kit Science Gift?

A preteen or teenager dreaming of MIT, following famous names in the tech business, reading hard SCI-FI novels, and commenting on the scientific inaccuracies in movies is the perfect candidate for this science gift. The best part is that your young engineer can build doodling robots, power electric model cars, add motors to Lego bricks, and even invent a new and never-seen-before egg-scrambling machine.

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• The kit includes everything (batteries as well) your kid needs to engage in building robots and devices for the ages.
• The challenges cards are particularly fun and interesting – they prompt the little MIT candidate to build different crazy machines.
• Adults love it just as much as kids do, so consider it the best science gift for kids and their tech-savvy parents as well.

Verdict

The Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst STEM Kit is the best money can buy item in the smart science gifts for kids category. Watch your tinkerer becoming the future’s innovative engineer and world-class scientist and be proud!

8 MaxUSee Astronomical Telescope Science Gift Idea

We wouldn’t be ourselves if we didn’t put a telescope on this list. What else encourages scientific exploration and curiosity for all of things in this universe if not an astronomical telescope? The MaxUSee Astronmical Telescope will meet and exceed the expectations of the younger astronomers in the house and for all the good reasons. It is, in fact, one of the best telescopes for beginners, perfect for preteens and teens.

Why choose the MaxUSee Astronomical Telescope Science Gift?

Is it a cliché that most kids want to become astronauts when they grow up? We don’t know, but if your preteen child is a huge fan of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Carl Sagan and wants to understand space in depth, you cannot go wrong with this telescope. It is a great item to begin learning about the sky and paves the way to deeper knowledge and more professional equipment.

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• When you buy this astronomical telescope, you get two 1.25″ Kellner eyepieces, a 3X Barlow lens, a Moon mirror, a universal smartphone adapter, a Moon map, a star map, and a backpack.
• It is an excellent instrument for bird watching, scenery viewing, astronomical objects, and moon/sun discovery.
• Never, but NEVER look at the sun directly with an astronomical telescope. Before you use the solar filter, read the instructions carefully.

Verdict

The MaxUSee Astronomical Telescope is one of those cool science gifts for kids that keeps teens and adults entertained and engaged for years.

Astronomy is such a complex science that one telescope will not unveil all the mysteries of the universe in one night. However, the telescope does pave the way for science-centered adolescents to nurture their passion for this incredible field of study.

If you want more suggestions on how to buy a telescope for kids and teens, check out our guide on the best telescopes for kids or the best telescopes for beginners if your teenagers show an interest in astronomy or even astrophotography.

9 ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino Science Gift Idea

Enter the new generation of programmers, IT hot shots, electronics wizards, and computer geniuses! For all the teenagers who want to learn the very basics of electronics and programming, the Elegoo Uno Project Starter Kit is a dream came true. The most economical way to starting Arduino programming for beginners, this kit looks like it descended from a SCI-FI movie. The best part is that it makes computer science, robotics, and engineering easier and a lot more fun!

Why choose the ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino Science Gift?

The engineers of tomorrow are the young scientists of today. The kit packs a big punch in terms of features and components. Some parents say they almost forgot they had children, this is how much this science gift absorbs them. Arduino boards are behind almost any gadget you can think of, from your car GPS to cameras, the internet, motors, and even smartphones. There is nothing best in the field of applied electronics and programming that this starter kit!

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• As a warning, do not use a voltage higher than 9V.
• Elegoo offers products 100% compatible with the official Arduino microcontroller boards, so you do not have to worry about this.
• The starter kit includes a 24-lessons guide, basic settings for the Arduino software IDE, a simple program to enable the UNO board to control the sensors, and more. It may sound Sci-Fi to you, but your kid will shine with the power of a thousand LED lights.
• Make sure the child has the right age and is tech-savvy, as such kits managed to throw off a few adults, unfortunately.

Verdict

Make sure the gift giving falls within the return deadlines, as it happened that people received kits with flaws and malfunctions and were not able to return them. Other than that, for future engineers and programmers, the starter kit is an excellent manner for your child to make the official debut at the ball of hard computer sciences. If your child shows a strong inclination for IT and all things computer-centered, make sure you check out our guide on the best Arduino starter kits for all ages and levels! With computer sciences on a rise, your child may discover a future career from the earliest age!

10 Levenhuk Rainbow 50L Plus Microscope & Experiment Kit Science Gift Idea

Your kid may one day find the universal cure for cancer, create vaccines for the world’s deadliest diseases, stop aging, improve human DNA, solve world hunger, find the identity of Jack the Ripper, advance nanotechnology, and reverse climate change, among others.

All such noble and incredible achievements start under a microscope. For preteen passionate about biology and for future college students adamant to become researchers, Levenhuk Rainbow 50L Plus Microscope & Experiment Kit is the best way to quench their thirst for applied sciences.

Why choose the Levenhuk Rainbow 50L Plus Microscope & Experiment Kit Science Gift?

Simply put, this microscope is an amazing piece of hi-tech science through-and-through and finds its place in preteens’ rooms, on college students’ desks, and in beginner researchers’ labs. Made of metal, sturdy, and coming with a lifetime warranty, the Levenhuk Rainbow 50L Plus Microscope & Experiment Kit will accompany your child from high school to college with no problems.

Here are some more things you need to know about this science gift:

• Medical students appreciate this microscope, so it is an excellent device for younger teens as well.
• The microscope’s head features an inclination of 45 degrees for comfortable viewing position and rotates 360 degrees around its axis for best group working.
• The experiment kits includes an excellent visual guide, forceps, hatchery, microtome, flasks with yeast, glue, sea salt, brine shrimp, and glass slides, and a fly leg in case you have a soft spot for movies like The Thing or The Fly and you want your kid to science away your fears.

Verdict

The Levenhuk Rainbow 50L Plus Microscope & Experiment Kit is both an introductory tool for biology fans and one of the best science gifts for kids and teens who also love applied sciences and experiments. Its intrinsic value has no match: besides the lifetime warranty, the microscope can help your young doctor-to-be to study, research, and innovate through college. If you want more ideas on the best microscopes for kids, teens, and future college students, check out our guide right here. We offer a wide variety of microscopes, ranging from science toys to professional microscopes used in academic settings.

How We Chose the Best Science Gifts for Kids and Teenagers

When we looked for the following ten best science gifts for kids and teens, we applied the next criteria to the search:

Interconnected Sciences

The beauty of science is that learning in one field leads kids (and adults alike) to grow an appetite for other related sciences.

Our list of gifts for kids that love science includes items capable of helping children and teenagers acquire tastes for other fields of study and experimentation as well.

The Boredom Factor

We all know boredom is an important deal-breaker when it comes to toys and games, especially at early ages. The lower the boredom factor is, the better the science gift is. It is true that young Sheldons everywhere do not get easily bored by the science they love most. However, we tried to list the best science gifts for kids with the lowest boredom levels possible!

How do You Choose the Best Science Gifts for Kids and Teens?

We know choosing smart science gifts for kids is not easy feat, especially for the young geniuses whose minds are sponges for knowledge and new skills every passing day. Our recommendation is to pick the science gifts for kids that appeal directly to their interests. Kids outgrow hobbies and passions and you might learn soon that the telescope you bought sits lonely in a corner, as your child found a new passion for medicine, but that is alright.

Get your child the best science kit or item that best serves her needs now and watch her enjoy herself while learning something new. The more science stuff people learn, the better.

On the other hand, if you want more suggestions and recommendations on how to buy gifts for kids that encourage scientific learning, the building of transferable cognitive skills, critical scientific thinking, and general knowledge, here are our other guides to inspire you! They all have both an educational component and an entertainment one and they can all promote a spontaneous teaching moment (which are the best!):

• Best Slime Making Kits for Kids;
• The Best Science Kits for Children and Teens;
• Best Telescopes for Kids;
• The Best Microscopes for Kids and Teens;
• Best Magnifying Glasses for All Ages;
• The Best Arduino Starter Kits for All Ages;
• Best Metal Detectors for Passionate Treasure Hunters.

We hope all these guides will help you choose those science gifts for kids that suit your little ones’ interests and hobbies the best. Don’t forget that one of the most powerful powerful forces and drivers in this world for children is their parental example, so feel free to get a telescope, a metal detector, or a magnifying glass for yourself and introduce your child into the wonders these items can reveal.

Science Gifts for Kids: Bottom Line

This was our list of suggestions and ideas on gifts for kids that love science but we are sure you have some ideas of your own!

So tell us, fellow science aficionados, what do you think are the best science gifts for kids and teenagers that will take their innovation skills where no one has gone before? Have you tried any of the items on this list? How was your child’s experience with them? Share your thoughts and even more product suggestions for us to review in the comment section below!