11 Better Gifts for Young Scientists

Kids are observant, curious, and excited about the world around them. Here are 11 fun ways to encourage the budding genius in your life.

1. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS BIRD GUIDE OF NORTH AMERICA; $15.95

Beginner birders will love this kid-friendly guide, which features 100 North American bird species. The guide shows where each bird lives, what sound it makes, and what it likes to eat.

 Find It: National Geographic

2. KIDS’ STETHOSCOPE; $6.99

Sometimes the simplest joys are the best. This working stethoscope is sized for little hands and is sturdy enough to stand up to years of make-believe medicine and real science exploration.

Find It: Amazon   

3. BIG BAG OF SCIENCE; $28.00

With more than 70 activities to introduce kids to chemistry, biology, magnets, Earth science, and much more, the Big Bag of Science offers a big bang for your buck. With adult assistance, kids can test the UV-blocking powers of sunscreen, make their own snow, and even learn why we burp.

Find It: Amazon

4. SNAP CIRCUITS JUNIOR; $22.50

The kit’s brightly colored elements snap easily in and out of the circuit board, providing tinkerers with an easy introduction to electronics. Kids can use it to create more than 100 projects, including a touch lamp, a doorbell, and an AM radio.

Find It: Walmart 

5. ME … JANE; $12.55

This Caldecott Honor-winning picture book tells the story of a young Jane Goodall and her love of animals. With words and pictures by cartoon illustrator Patrick McDonnell, this quiet, touching story of exploration and adventure has already become a favorite of young naturalists everywhere.

Find It: Amazon

6. LEGO CITY SPACEPORT; $119.99

Aspiring astronauts will love the LEGO spaceport, with its launchpad, shuttle, service vehicle, and even a countdown display. Parents of brilliant little girls, take heart: The kit includes a female rocket scientist minifig.

Find It: Target

7. SQUISHY HUMAN BODY; $27.99

What better way to learn about the body than by touching all the stuff inside? The Squishy Human Body comes with nine squishable, removable organs, as well as tweezers, forceps, 12 plastic bones and muscles, a body parts “Organ-izer,” and a book showing how it all works. 

Find It: Smart Lab Toys

8. FIZZ POP BOOM; $21.95

Soda geysers, water powered rockets, and exploding bags: There are some experiments that are better performed outside. The nine messy, exciting projects included in this kit use familiar concepts like soda fizz to teach Newton’s laws, chemical reactions, and physics.

Find It: Fat Brain Toys

9. DIGGIN’ UP DINOSAURS: T-REX; $14.99

The fun in this kit just keeps coming. Little archaeologists get to crack, whack, and chisel the plaster “dig site” to unearth plastic dinosaur bones. Once those have all been found, the kids can build their own T. rex skeleton.

Find It: Amazon

10. MY FIRST MICROSCOPE; $16.25

You’re never too young to discover the wonders of the natural world. With this award-winning, kid-friendly microscope, even preschoolers can get a closer look at the hidden world in their own backyards.

Find It: Amazon 

11. GROW N’ GLOW TERRARIUM; $14.99

Grow a garden in a jar with this easy kit. After setting the included seeds up in their new habitat, kids can decorate the plastic terrarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers (included in the kit), creating an ecosystem during the day and a pretty scene at night.

Find It: Amazon