Once a kid gets started in STEM, their next goal becomes improving their skills and developing more techniques and understanding. STEM kits are great for improving STEM skills because they come in a variety of difficulty levels, and because many of them include reusable or modular parts that lets kids get creative and try their own unique projects.
Here are 8 awesome kits from a variety of STEM fields:
Home Science Tools’ Veggie Power Battery Kit
Designed for kids in grades four and up, this “Veggie Power Battery Kit” lets STEM students of all ages build and learn about both salt water batteries and simple batteries. Materials included in the kit help teach about batteries and the chemical reactions that create them, as well as related concepts like voltage, current, and even electrical circuits!
A potato or any other vegetable works with this kit – plus, it’s reusable, meaning that curious kids can test out a variety of veggies and learn about the differences between them. Extra large electrodes help maximize the current that the veggie battery can generate. The kit also includes a multimeter, so students can take accurate measurements of their battery’s power output.
The best part about this battery science kit is its versatility. Younger students can focus on making and comparing veggie batteries, while older students can use the materials in this STEM kit to power or build on other, more complex projects.
Thimble’s Creator Set Kit
This all-in-one starter kit is one of our top recommendations for anyone looking for ways to get their kids started in STEM! Packed with enough components to create multiple engineering projects, this Creator Set has everything required to start building a students’ interest in STEM.
Thimble’s Creator Set is designed to be accessible for total beginners, giving learners clear instructions and cool, hands-on opportunities to learn about electronics and coding. It’s also all-inclusive, with all the sensors and other electronic components that kids need for their coding and robotics projects.
The Creator Set also includes written instructions as well as videos. Both help to improve a child’s STEM skills by explaining the fundamentals of the various STEM concepts. A strong foundation in STEM education is key to the development of more complex problem solving, which makes Thimble’s Creator Set a great place to start for young students.
Creation Crate’s Robotics Pack
The Robotics Pack from Creation Crate includes four different robotics projects for elementary school students. Students can strengthen their skills with the Doodle Bot, Talk Bot, Bumble Bee, and obstacle-sensing Bump Bot.
While each of these robotics projects is sold separately by Creation Crate, the four pack provides a discount as well as an opportunity to build on a student’s STEM knowledge by comparing and combining the components of each kit.
Developed in partnership with STEM educators at Logics Academy, these kits from Creation Crate are designed to improve real-world problem solving skills in a classroom environment or at home. Robot kits include written and visual instructions as well as online videos that demonstrate the features of the robots.
Thimble’s Piano Kit
Learning to play music is an excellent way to strengthen a student’s STEM skills! Music education has been linked to stronger abilities in a variety of STEM disciplines, including higher math scores and improved focus. So what better way to enhance a child’s STEM skills than with a cool engineering kit that combines music with electronics?
Thimble’s Piano Kit uses an Arduino MIDI Controller to create an electronic synthesizer. Students working through this higher level kit will learn soldering, assembly, and programming for the Arduino, connecting STEM content to music and creativity.
This kit is for older STEM students and teaches critical STEM skills like soldering, making it an excellent way to continue the project-based STEM learning from simpler STEM kits.
Groovy Lab In A Box’s “It’s Electric!” Kit
With their retro style themed and funky teal and orange packaging, Groovy Lab is sure to delight both young people and their parents. Designed for a middle school audience, their kits cover a wide range of STEM subjects, from gravity to greenhouses. Designed for elementary school students, their “It’s Electric!” kit teaches STEM skills by walking kids through an electronics project that lets them build a “groovy dance pad.”
In addition to the central “dance pad” project, this STEM kit includes activities and information related to static electricity, paper circuits, and switches. All the materials are included, plus step by step instructions with a fun cartoony story and theme.
Groovy Labs STEM activities also give kids access to Groovy Labs’ online portal. This “Beyond the Box” extended learning material encourages young STEM students to continue their learning and do more cool projects!
Thimble’s RGB Video Game Kit
Video games are a $92 billion dollar industry, with nearly three quarters of youth in the United States reporting that they play video games. So it’s no wonder that many students today are interested in learning STEM skills that they can apply to programming and developing video games!
Thimble’s RGB Video Game Kit uses an RGB Matrix Arcade to teach older students how to program classic video games such as Pong and Snake. At the end of the project, kids also learn how to program this controller so that it connects to popular video game consoles such as Xbox, Sony Playstation, and Nintendo.
Designed for students ages 13 and up, this engineering kit from Thimble teaches assembly, including soldering, as well as programming. With its cool, relevant connection to video games, it’s a great way for students to build their technical skills after completing some easier projects.
littleBits’ Base Inventor Kit
Designed to help engage young women in STEM learning, the littleBits Base Inventor kit helps girls improve their STEM skills by learning about electronic circuits and prototyping. LittleBits are modular electronic components that snap together and come apart easily with no other tools or materials, meaning that this kit includes everything kids need to get started with a wide variety of STEM projects.
The Base Inventor Kit has 25 pieces and connects to an app that provides step by step instructions for 12 different projects. The different components can move, light up, and make noise – meaning that kids can use this STEM kit to make all sorts of cool interactive projects, like a robot arm or an intruder alarm, that they can use in everyday life!
The best part of the littleBits STEM kits are that they combine seamlessly with all other littleBits sets, meaning that kids can continue developing their STEM skills after completing the projects included in each kit. Plus, the components are modular and multi-use, allowing kids to invent and prototype their own designs with the included materials!
Thimble’s Augmented Reality Kit
Augmented reality technology made a huge splash with the global phenomenon Pokemon Go. Augmented reality lets you combine computer-generated simulations with “real life,” such as a heads up display or an overlay in a smartphone’s camera. Learning about this hot new technology will be important for STEM jobs of the future!
Thimble’s Augmented Reality kit lets students apply their critical thinking skills in a cool, relevant way by making an augmented reality game using an inertial measurement unit. As a higher level project, this kit does require soldering and other assembly, meaning that it’s best for older students looking to build on STEM skills that they’ve already established with easier kits and projects.
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