The 20 best STEM toys and games to gift young learners and curious minds

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There’s no doubt the STEM toys category has lost a bit of its magic. The hype that started about a decade ago, powering a wave of startups to launch creative and experimental products — pitching parents on dedicated connected hardware and apps to help unlock their kids’ future tech career progression — has faded to something a bit less flashy and ambitious. What’s left is a broad sense that kid-friendly kit is just a piece of a larger learning puzzle. And products alone won’t cast an unbreakable spell. But maybe they can help?

The focus of remaining players has shifted too. Since our last dive into this techie toy box, a number have winked out of existence entirely — or look as if they’re about to judging by mothballing of remaining efforts around existing (old) products. But the main direction of travel is…