stem toy contest at Best buySTEM and STEAM education help prepare future generations with skills that will set them up for success. You likely have heard these terms and may be familiar with some of the benefits of STEM and STEAM toys that encourage skill development within the context of play and fun. This contest will help you understand a little bit about some of these toys, and gives you a chance to win amazing toy prize packages.

STEM and STEAM education in a fun interactive package

STEM toys help children learn skills related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEAM toys help spark creativity and imagination with artistic tasks that naturally align with the STEM skills. With most STEM toys, children are developing a range of technical and non-technical skills, making the distinction between the two terms less relevant. After all, even a basic game of gin rummy with a deck of cards involves counting (math), strategy, and planning. For that reason, I’ll stick to using the more common STEM in the rest of this article, with the understanding that children playing with these toys are developing a variety of abilities including creativity, language skills, spatial skills, etc … a combination of skills from a variety of domains.

With STEM toys, variety is the spice of life

Looking at the image at the top of this article, there are some toys that seem more obviously STEM than others. All of those toys are prizes in this contest, but not all will appeal to every child. A child who loves building might prefer the hands-on fun of the Vtech Marble Rush sets. Another child may really love the logistical challenges of the Osmo Coding kits. Yet another may be intrigued by conceptualizing a 3D plastic creation using the 3Doodler kits. You may look at these toys and know exactly which one is most appealing to your child. Or you may wish your child could experiment with a few to develop and stimulate their minds in a variety of ways.

Each of the STEM toys carried at Best Buy allows children to have fun and develop some skills that can prepare them for a successful future. One toy may help reduce screen-time while building listening and reading skills (LeapPods Max), while another might use a tablet screen for unique learning experiences (Snakebyte Pebblegear tablets) or even use a tablet to introduce complex scientific concepts like light diffraction (PlayShifu Tacto Laser). As you explore the range of STEM toys, you will quickly find some that will be perfect for your children.

Experimentation teaches value of failure and success

We all want our children to be happy forever. These toys are fun to play with, but they also teach the kind of lessons we only learn through trial and error. Lessons like: you can’t do something well without having done it poorly first. Many toys have a learning curve: skills improve over time. You know from your own childhood; there were many toys we had when we were young that would now be considered STEM toys. I remember my first model building experience; it was some kind of naval corvette, and needless to say, the boat sunk!

I did have fun though and that’s another thing that your child will learn and carry with them in the future: though it can take some work, science, technology, engineering, and math can also be a lot of fun. Which reminds me of a quote from American author Frank Sonnenberg: If work isn’t fun you’re playing on the wrong team.

The toys we are giving away in this contest will encourage children to ask questions, embrace failure, and be openly creative. The best part is that each winner will get a package of toys covering a variety of STEM skills! We’ll be reviewing most of these on the blog in the weeks to come so return to the blog often to learn more.

How to enter

Entering this contest is easy and you can enter in two different ways:

  1. In a comment below, tell us about one toy that you had when you were a child that would now be considered a STEM toy AND tell us what skills it helped you to develop.
  2. In a comment below, tell us which of the toys mentioned in this article, or shown on Best Buy’s toy page do you most want in your home for your children.

What you can win

At the end of this contest we will randomly draw six (6) winners from all eligible entries. Each winner will receive one of six prize packages; each package will include up to four of these toys:

3DOODLER START PLUS
3DOODLER CREATE PLUS BLACK
LEAPFROG LEAPPODS MAX EN / FR
OSMO CODING STARTER KIT
OSMO LITTLE GENIUS STARTER KIT
SHIFU TACTO COMBO CLASSICS AND LASER
SNAKEBYTE VDF PEBBLEGEAR CARS 7″ TABLET
SNAKEBYTE VDF PEBBLEGEAR FROZEN 7″ TABLET
SNAKEBYTE VDF PEBBLEGEAR TOYSTORY4 TABLET
VTECH MARBLE RUSH CORKSCREW RUSH SET
VTECH  MARBLE RUSH ULTIMATE SET
VTECH KIDIZOOM CREATOR CAM

 

This contest runs from Oct 1st to Oct 16th.

Remember you can enter in a variety of ways as discussed above. Spread the word with all of the parents you know. Your child will likely be playing with their children so no matter which family wins, your child will benefit.

Win STEM toys Contest Rules and Regulations

Good Luck!

Martin Renaud
Martin Renaud
Editor in Chief
Martin loves working with the talented editors and writers on the Best Buy Blog as Editor-in-Chief. During his spare time he is either working on his next novel, cooking up a masterpiece in the kitchen, or adding some smart tech to his new home on Mayne Island in British Columbia.
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608 COMMENTS

  7. A toy that I had as a kid that is now a STEM toy is a electrical building game and helped develop problem solving skills

  8. loved easy bake oven. taught how to measure appropriate amounts for recipes
    Would so much love coding kit

  10. I would love the Osmo coding kit. It would be a great way to introduce coding logic to the kids at a young age!

  11. OSMO CODING STARTER KIT, it will help my kids to learn how to code.. since I have no knowledge about coding and programming.I had some technic lego. It was great because it was a step on from the regular lego and teaches kids about engineering and simple machines.

  12. I played with Legos a lot as a kid. it helped spark my creativity in designing and building things which I am using in my home DIY projects!

  17. I think Etch A Sketch would make a good Stem toy & learned precision & accuracy from it. I would love the OSMO Detective Agency: Exploration Game as i love a good mystery & solving it.

  18. I would love to bring home the Osmos kits for my children. We’ve been seeing them a lot and I think they would learn so much from them!

  19. I think the spirograph we had would definitely be a Stem toy. It was always so much fun and definitely helped improve eye-hand coordination among other things.

  20. It would be great to have the Osmo Coding Kit. I think all kids should learn programming in school, it will open up all sorts of opportunities in the future.

  21. I had some technic lego. It was great because it was a step on from the regular lego and teaches kids about engineering and simple machines.

    • VTECH MARBLE RUSH ULTIMATE SET would be perfect in our home as this would create imagination, dexterity & coordination for the fingers and also a lot of fun.

  35. OSMO CODING STARTER KIT, it will help my kids to learn how to code.. since I have no knowledge about coding and programming.

  36. I would love to win the VTech Play Smart Preschool Laptop -English for my soon to be 4 grandson
    He is amazing
    If he wants a certain program on TV he knows exactly which buttons to push to get it
    Keep in mind he is only 3 years old
    He would love this toy!

  39. I have seen many blog posts regarding osmo and all the fun, educational learning that that brings over the past few years and I think that would be highly regarded in my house.

  40. I adored my alphie toy. It was really fun and I learned so much, plus it was very portable so I used him in the car on long road trips. Learning toys are the best and I will always remember him as my favourite toy ever. It helped me with math, science, and tech along with a wife variety of other categories because I saved up for loads of additional cards.

  41. I would like the LeadPods Max because my daughter is just learning how to read and this would help!

  43. I think the original Transformers Toys should be considered STEM because I felt they encouraged technical thinking and they were solving a complex puzzle to transform them!

  44. The 3Doodler Create+ (Plus) Essentials 3D Printing Pen Set sounds so interesting our grandchildren are so into creating with their artwork that at times we say how can a 5 and 7 year old think of and create and finish such intricate work.

  47. I spent a lot of time outside. Had a small set of dishes that I would use to play house with. I would “build” houses in the bush by using falling tree and sticks, plan and map out all the different rooms. Great skills for problem solving .

  48. OSMO Coding starter kit would’ve been great when I was growing up, but no. I watched Saturday morning cartoons and look where it got me.

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