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STEM Toys for Christmas!

Lisa Miles
On my lunchtime outing from the office and into Stevenage town centre I popped into one of the shops looking for ideas for Christmas presents for my nieces (both 4 now) and I found this 'Build your own Den' kit! ?

af2927f5e4ea615a976757cd29d7ea9b-huge-toys-for-christmas.jpg


Love the idea of getting them to build their own little houses/towers/castles/shops all while learning how things are constructed and all about the laws of physics and structural integrity etc!  The only pity is that it's kind of gender stereotyped by having just a young boy depicted on the packaging which means that both my nieces will complain that it's a 'boys toy' and 'not for girls' ... ?


So why didn't they think to picture both a boy and a girl on the packaging?  Or maybe they do a 'pink' girls version separately... ?


If you have any other ideas for STEM themed toys to entertain a couple of four year old's over the Holiday season then I'd love to hear them!
  • 0
    Lisa,

    Not a suggestion but an anecdote. I spent a few years in South Korea, living on a 'Foreigners Compound' set up by Hyundai, which had as a central focus a Clubhouse (bar, library, kitchen, function room, etc.). There was a play-room for the children and one day the young boys and girls (all aged around 3-5) were found in it with all the boys playing with the toy cooker, pots and pans while all the girls were playing with the toy trains.

    Children tend to take their lead on stereotypes from the adults - if left to their own devices they will just do what they want.

    Alasdair
  • 0
    Absolutely Alasdair and I think therein lies the problem. It's the adults that teach the children gender stereotyping from a very early age by buying into the 'boys toys vs girls toys' train of thinking and doing the blue for boys and pink for girls thing. 


    One of the most heartwarming arguments I've heard was in a shop in town where a young boy (around 9 or 10) was quite taken with a keyring he'd found on the accessories stand in a supermarket while waiting for his mum. It had a large black pom pom on it with some kind of ears so it looked like a cat. He asked his mum if he could have it and she said "No that's for girls not for boys". His quick as a flash response was "But what difference does that make?" 


    I could have hugged him and said "Yes, what difference does that make?" but I'm sure his mum would have not taken kindly to that... ?
  • 0
    My daughter would have loved that "Build you own den kit" when she was four! Actually she'd probably still enjoy it now at 24 ?


    I remember we bought her one of these when she was about that age, she absolutely loved it:
    fp7199.jpg

  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Meccano and lego with motors, solar PV, hydrogen and electric remote control models, kits and toys all make for good STEM introduction and enjoyment for the 5 to 80 age bracket, ?
  • 0
    I thought I had mis read that for a  minute, but no, hydrogen powered toy cars really do exist apparently here     Probably a bit delicate and costly for most small children and too boring for teenagers, but probably a great sale to engineering parents.

    I wonder if they make one for the over 50 market, aimed at those having a very small midlife crisis.

  • 0

    Andy Millar:

    ....Actually she'd probably still enjoy it now at 24 ?

     





    Trust me Andy... It's not just my niece who'll be having fun with this present... ???
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member

    Lisa Miles:




    Andy Millar:

    ....Actually she'd probably still enjoy it now at 24 ?

     



    Trust me Andy... It's not just my niece who'll be having fun with this present... ???

     



    Always good training for XR Events, I'd have thought ? 


    OMS
     

  • 0

    mapj1:

    I thought I had mis read that for a  minute, but no, hydrogen powered toy cars really do exist apparently here     Probably a bit delicate and costly for most small children and too boring for teenagers, but probably a great sale to engineering parents.
    I wonder if they make one for the over 50 market, aimed at those having a very small midlife crisis.



    Rocket propulsion and explosions  - Sidney Alfords school of exploding ordinance


    Legh
  • 0
    I wanted a power wheels electric car you can drive when I was a kid and I never got one.


    The real reason I wanted one was to see how it worked.
  • 0
    None for a 4 year old Lisa Miles‍, but WHSmith have some pretty awesome STEM gifts at the moment (most 8+ years) - didn't manage to get photos of all, but here's a few I did snap. Didn't have time to look at them in detail but the covers at least are refreshingly free of gender stereotyping ?

    1fe03a136bc370c41a35106524bdcae1-huge-stem-gifts.png

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