Some people think that infants can’t pick up any STEM skills – but that’s not true! Children and toddlers learn through play, so the right STEM toys can build an early love of science.
The best STEM toys for 1-year-olds are age-appropriate toys that help develop your children. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) toys are educational toys designed for engaging, open-ended, and inspiring hours of fun playtime.
We’ve researched the top STEM toys for babies and infants to help parents select the perfect toy for their little builders, science buffs, and technology wiz-kids. Children are never too young for an early introduction to STEM-related educational toys.
What Makes The Best Stem Toys For 1-Year-Olds?
The best STEM toy for one-year-olds encourages open-ended play, cultivates curiosity, and strengthens milestone developmental skills. Great STEM toys for 1-year-olds have certain features that parents should consider when selecting a toy for their precious child.
Great Stem Toys For A One-Year-Old Compared
Best Stem Toys For A 1 Year Old Reviewed
Overall Best Stem Toys For 1-Year Old: Boon Pipes Building Toddler Bath Tub Toys
The bright colors and shapes of the Boon Pipes Building Toldder Bath Tub Toys turn bath time into fun science and engineering experiments. The suction effect and unique shapes inspire delightful scooping and pouring fun.
These bath toys for toddlers are perfect brain development toys for building fine motor skills, problem-solving skills, and hand-eye coordination. The tube stick against the walls, and with the unique shapes, babies can create intricate pipe chains or play with individual pieces.
The water pours through the tubes back into the bathtub. There are no water messes on the bathroom floor except for little ones who demonstrate their delight with successful “science experiments.”
The Boon Pipes Building Toddler Bath Tub Toys are the best stem toys for toddlers aged 1 to 2 years old. The bright colors and different shapes inspire shape and color recognition
Winner of Best STEM Toys For 18-Month-Old: Learning Resources Spike The Fine Motor Hedgehog
The Learning Resources Spike The Fine Motor Hedgehog is the winner of the best STEM toys for 18-months old kids because of its colorful design, easy storage, and durability for hours of fun games. The toy design focuses on cognitive development, strengthening fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination; the toy is perfect for occupational therapy exercises.
Twelve colorful quills store inside the cute hedgehog shell for safe storage and travel. The chunky peg-shaped quills fit in the holes of the hedgehog’s back. They are the perfect size for little hands to grip and improve motor skills when inserting them into the holes.
The removable pegs inspire math skills games of counting, sorting, and matching, ideal for budding mathematicians and creative hands-on play. Sorting, contrasting, and patterning build problem-solving and critical thinking skills, the basics of science, technology, engineering, and math.
Top Stem Toys For 9-Month-Old: The Explorer Play Kit By Lovevery
The Lovevery Explorer Play Kit for babies 9 to 10 months old is the fifth subscription box in a series of stage-based play kits. The STEM games and toys are designed to satisfy your child’s curiosity in exploring their environment and their fascination with containment concepts.
The at-home activities allow little ones to get the most out of their educational toys. Inside the Play Kit box is a parental guide explaining the how and why of each STEM toy. The Play Guide also features development information on fine motor skills, problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, and other milestones children develop at nine and ten months old.
The Explorer Play Kit features a board book introducing children to emotional development. The package includes toys to promote fine motor skills, two-handed play, coordination, and concentration. Kids at a young age love to play with keys; the best toys in the box are probably the stainless steel jingle keys on an easy-to-grasp ring.
Parents who want to introduce their kids at an early age to STEM subjects find the Lovevery subscription boxes helpful. This Play kit featured toys and STEM games based on gravity, balance, coordination of both sides of the body, and experimenting with cause and effect; the perfect gift for a 9-month-old child.
STEM Toys For Babies
Best Stacking STEM Toys For Babies: The First Years Stack Up Baby Cups
The First Years Stack Up Baby Cups are excellent stacking STEM toys for problem-solving skills and hand-eye coordination. The colorful cups are a favorite with babies; they love stacking the cups and then knocking them down.
Made with BPA-free plastic, the stacking STEM toy is baby safe and promotes open-ended play. The set of 12 brightly colored cups inspires color matching, color recognition, and experimenting with the effect of nesting and stacking the different-sized cups. The age-appropriate toy features small holes for fun water play.
Older children learn and practice counting and number recognition with the embossed numbers at the bottom of each cup.
Best STEM Toys For Early Childhood: KiwiCo Panda Crate
The Panda Crate are age-appropriate STEM toys for five ages, from newborn to two months, 3-6 months, 7-12 months, 13-18 months, and 19-24 months. A team of in-house experts and child development professionals design each toy for fun learning experiences.
Whether it’s tummy time, practicing problem-solving skills, creativity, spatial awareness, or sensory play, the STEM toy has a positive impact on your baby’s developmental stages. The fun, unique toys introduce science, technology, engineering, and math at an early age to your child. Each crate includes a booklet and cards with ideas on how to maximize each new toy and help develop your child.
Each Panda Crate is theme-based, with enough toys and activities to keep your kids engaged until the next crate arrives.
Best STEM Toys For Babies 3-Months Old: The Charmer Play Kit by Lovevery
The Charmer Play Kit is packed with sensory toys for 3-4 months old kids. The Play kit features toys and activities that inspire creativity in exploring with mouth, eyes, and hands. Parents love how their children develop, but this smiling, face recognition stage must be a favorite.
Your little charmer develops speech and oral motor strength as their cute personality emerges. A wooden rattle, natural rubber teether, teething cloths, and hand-to-hand discs help shape these age-group milestones. The rolling bell is a Montessori classic ideal for tummy time play, tracking sound by turning their heads toward the sound and developing finger grasping when older. The soft book features lots of sensory stimulation with sounds, textures, mouthing, and hide-and-seek discovery. Another Montessori classic in the play kit is the locking discs for hand-to-hand movement and grasping.
The Lovevery Charmer Play Kit is the follow-up to the Looker Play kit; parents can expect subscription boxes every two months during the first year of their baby’s life. The materials used are BPA-free, phthalate-free, non-toxic, and safe for babies and toddlers.
Best STEM Toys For Infants
Best Sensory Input STEM Toys For 1-Year-Old: The Senser Play Kit by Lovevery
The Senser Play Kit by Lovevery features toddler sensory toys for infants and toddlers. The important thing about Lovevery Play Kits is their open-ended and imaginative design allowing toddlers to invent new ways to play with each toy.
Although tummy time is still dominant, toddlers strengthen coordination and agility and develop language skills. Their driving force is to inspect everything with their mouths and hands. They could be a budding scientist who loves physics or a potential technology expert in the making, but for now, science experiments are about putting things in their mouth.
The Play Kit includes magic tissues for peek-a-boo and mouthing fun, a rainbow ball in vibrant colors, play socks for strengthening body control, and a tummy time wobbler that strengthens core muscles needed for crawling and walking. The Play Guide helps parents guide their toddlers for hours of fun.
Best Basic Concepts STEM Toys For One-Year-Old: Battat Toys One Two Squeeze Baby Blocks
The Battat One-Two-Squeeze Baby Blocks toy is recommended for little builders from 6 months to 3-year-old toddlers. The toy with hand sculptured pictures on every side of every block is designed for little hands and curious toddlers.
A reusable storage bag holds the ten colorful blocks and the carry handle is perfect for little toddlers to carry the toy to grandma. With 60 images of animals and numbers one to ten, toddlers notice each block’s image shape, number, and color.
Made from BPA and phthalate-free plastic, the building blocks are a perfect gift for toddlers. Unlike hard wooden blocks, these assorted blocks are soft enough to squeeze, firm for stacking, safe for chewing, the ideal shape for squeaky noises, and perfect for floating in the water.
Best Math STEM Toys For 1-Year-Olds: Melissa & Doug K’s Kids Fish And Count Learning Games
The Melissa & Doug K’s Kids Fish And Count Learning Games are the best value for children developing through learning fun. The math toys promote creativity and exciting fish and count adventures with interactive designs and multisensory features.
You don’t have to pour water; the reversible pond safely holds the eight shaped sea creatures and has its unique fun features. Fishing motivates children to develop hand-eye coordination, arm movement, fine and gross motor skills, creativity, logical thinking, and an early introduction to math skills. A squeaker handle with a fishing line, bait, and a self-stick pad ensures kids successfully catch interesting fish.
The little toy pond is reversible, suggesting more fun; children can turn the pond over for more adventures when taking a break from fishing and before putting the toy away. Children love identifying shapes, playing peek-a-boo with the mirror at the bottom of the pond, and practicing counting numbers when reversing the little pond. Older kids enjoy fishing as much as younger kids, and the number recognition, counting, and geometric shapes engage toddler boys and girls.
Best Engineering STEM Toys For One-Year-Olds: Goobi Construction Set Large Building Blocks
The Goobi Construction Set is the best block set to learn the basics of engineering. The award-winning engineering toy includes 20 jumbo pieces in vibrant colors. The ball set features hallowed red, blue, green, and yellow balls, whereas each rod shape has a robust embedded magnet that attaches to the ball.
Toddlers demonstrate creative thinking and tactile skills as they discover the world of engineering concepts. Physics will not stop these little builders from stacking, connecting, and transferring the bars and balls into magnificent building projects.
The toy is 100% safe for toddlers and complies with ASTM and EN71 EU toy safety standards for one-year-olds and up. The Goobi Construction Set is one of the best STEM toys for kids.