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

  4. I think Lucas would enjoy learning about coding via Osmo Coding kits. So that is what I would like to bring home.

  5. I didn’t have a lot of toys growing up, but one toy that I was grateful to get the opportunity to play with was lego. It taught me creativity and how to building awesome things and although the lego set I had was very limited, I ended up using my imagination for the most part.

  7. The VTech Marble Rush Ultimate looks like a lot of learning hidden in lots of fun! My grandkids and I will enjoy hours of fun!

  16. I had a LOT of LEGO when I was young – then, as now, I think it is one of the original STEM toys. LEGO promotes creativity, engineering, construction… especially when you stop following the directions and just make what you want/can.

  17. I most want the Osmo Creative Starter Kit… This kit combines games, technology, and creative tools to help my child learn.

  18. One toy was a carpentry kit-It It made me interested in building and measuring and helped me figure thing out when they didn’t go as planned.

  20. The OSMO CODING STARTING KIT fascinates me the most, I think I could learn at the asme time ! Great selection.

  22. I would like the coding starter kit. Seems like coding is a very important skill today that will become more important in the future.

  23. I had a toy microscope as a kid. It had plastic slide that had small objects embedded in them. I still love looking through microscopes today!

  24. I had some Lego sets when I was a kid…had this big set of just random pieces, so I could make whatever I wanted to!

  25. I love the 3D paint pen set. I have a 3D printer and my daughter is always curious about it so this would be great to help teach her in her own way

  26. I would like the Roybi Smart Educational Robot STEM Toy for my children. There is so much to learn from this one toy and could be used for a long time as the children grow!

  27. I had some blocks, I think called Radical Blocks. Different shapes, some plain, some with a fixed weight in them and some with a sliding weight inside them. This allowed me to build some very interesting structures.

  29. I had a log building kit that would now be considered a stem toy as it helped with with spatial reasoning and basic mathematics and it was also fun as I had to balance the logs to make a building.

  30. Tinker toys they developed creativity and fine motor skills great imaginative play. The marble rush would be perfect for my grand daughters to play with at Nana’s

  32. We would love the WowWee Robosapien Programmable Robot because it blends learning into playtime and is so very cool!

  35. Some great choices, but I would love to see my son using the 3Doodler Create+ (Plus) Essentials 3D Printing Pen Set – its just SO COOL. Ok. I might use it more. Maybe.

  36. I had a LOT of LEGO when I was young – then, as now, I think it is one of the original STEM toys. LEGO promotes creativity, engineering, construction… especially when you stop following the directions and just make what you want/can.

  40. It was actually my brother’s toy that I would play with whenever I got the chance. It was an amazing set of things that connected with an assortment of wheels, motors, propellers along with different options for making your creation go on water. All of the motors were contained in clear plastic balls with the gears so you could see how they worked. I know this is terrible description but if anyone remembers the name of this set, please let me know. It would have been the early 80’s. It helped him become an aerospace engineer.

  41. I had a Lego set when I was a child. I think it helped me develop problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking.

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