We’ve got a little scientist here, so we’re always on the lookout for fab resources that will catch their interest and incorporate some scientific learning into their play. Here’s some of our favourites…..
USBORNE PERIODIC TABLE JIGSAW PUZZLE AND BOOK
Mr6 loves this jigsaw so much! If you’ve got kids interested in the periodic table, then this is the puzzle for them. Brightly coloured, with loads of little characters to represent each element, it’s a fun and attractive jigsaw that will widen your kid’s knowledge of chemistry and the elements. The book is a paperback version of the popular periodic table lift-the-flap book, without the flaps! But even if you’ve got the hardback book already (like us!), then this set is worth it just for the puzzle.
Great for learning about the periodic table and chemistry terminology. (Suitable for ages 3+)
Find it at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
TEGU MAGNETIC WOODEN BLOCKS
If you’ve not come across Tegu before, you’re in for a treat! Wooden blocks that are also magnetic, to help your tiny engineer build more stable structures, and your slightly bigger engineers build moveable structures and characters. Though we’ve got the Magbot and Space Ship sets, they’re open-ended and join together in a multitude of ways, allowing for lots of creativity! They’re super quality, not as heavy as you’d think, have a really nice feel to them for tiny hands and come in loads of lovely colours!
Great for general building, open-ended play and exploring magnetism! (Suitable for ages 1+)
Find Tegu at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
LEARNING RESOURCES CODE & GO ROBOT MOUSE
This fun set allows kids to experiment with coding in a hands-on way, and helps them develop the logic required for programming. Kids have to work out the instructions for the cute little mouse so it can navigate its way across the board to get to the cheese! Each button press on it’s back equals one movement by the mouse, so getting the right number of presses in the right order is vital! The set comes with 16 click-together base pieces (the mouse conveniently moves one square per forwards/backwards button press!) and some challenge cards to get kids started.
Great for coding skills without a screen, and developing the computational thinking and logic required for programming. (Suitable for ages 5+)
Find it at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
PLAYMAGS
A great, super colourful, construction toy! We’ve got a veritable rainbow of these lovely tiles that click together really easily through magnetism, and they’re really fun. Open-ended to encourage creativity, and in an assortment of shapes (we’ve even got some that build a dome!), kids will be investigating a whole range of scientific and geometric ideas whilst playing!
Great for general building, open-ended play and exploring magnetism, tessellation, colour and light! (Suitable for ages 3+)
Find Playmags at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
OZOBOT
A tiny robot that takes its instructions from the lines on a page! Ozobot will find and follow a black line, but can recognize colours too! Kids can add colour “codes” into a line they draw and get the tiny bot to change directions, change speeds, spin around or a whole host of other actions! Our set came with “skins” to change the little robot into Marvel’s Groot and Rocket, and a pack of pre-printed challenge cards to get the kids up and running!
Great for computational thinking, coding skills and logic. (Suitable for ages 6+)
Find Ozobot at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
CHEMISTRY FLUXX
A fun card game where the rules change constantly! I have to admit, Mr6 sometimes needs a tiny bit of help with this game, but he has so much fun finding the elements, equipment and compounds he knows, that it’s a firm favourite of his! The compound “goal” you’re aiming for changes constantly, so you need to collect as many elements as you can, and play as many rule change cards as you can to help yourself!
Great for learning elements, compounds, planning and strategy. (Suitable for ages 8+ – but our 6 yr old manages ok with it!)
Find it at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
PROFESSOR ASTRO CAT!
We love Professor Astro Cat! These adorable books teach some quite advanced scientific terminology and concepts to kids in a cute and engaging way! They have a retro infographic style, breaking everything down into easy to digest chunks, and are perfect for little scientists! (See our full review of Professor Astro Cat’s Atomic Adventure here)
Great for sparking curiosity and introducing scientific terminology and concepts.
Find Professor Astro Cat books at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
A Different Way To Go 