All gifts from the Engineering Gift Guide Reviews and sorted by age.
This building kit for children 8 and up is perfect for the child who’s always wondering how things work!
This 3-in-1 RC building kit from Kididdo has an instruction booklet that walks the user through creating three separate remote-controlled vehicle designs.
This introductory coding kit from Let's Start Coding comes with over 100 experiments for children ages 8-15 to try completing independently.
This game from Looney Labs may come in a small box, but entire galaxies are contained within. Players (ages 8+) must develop strategies to fight over alien terrain while managing limited resources.
This build-it-yourself robotics toy by Thames and Kosmos not only walks you through building two different designs of robots but also introduces the basics of coding in an accessible manner.
This toy is the perfect introduction for those interested in vehicle design; it allows users to build multiple vehicles while simultaneously exploring complex physics and science concepts in an accessible way.
The WindBots: 6-in-1 Wind-Powered Machine Kit explores wind power and spatial reasoning with just enough engineering knowledge to pique a user’s interest.
Over the last two decades, coding has become one of the most important skills someone can possess. The Boolean Box Micro: Bit Base Kit is an incredible introduction to problem-solving, computers, and coding.
While it appears as a simple word puzzle, WordStruct 3.0 offers much more.
WordStruct ESSENTIALS brings facets of spatial reasoning to an incredibly enjoyable word game.
WordStruct MEGA is a 3D wordplay puzzle game that integrates grammar and engineering thinking. Item may be purchased from product website.
This book by Shari Eskenas uses nursery rhymes and fairy tales as fun contexts to explain Python's coding fundamentals to kids ages 10-18.
Thames & Kosmos' Hydraulic Boxing Bots are a fun and creative way to allow a child in your life to play with a toy they spend the time building themselves. Children learn how the internal mechanisms of the toys operate, as well as how hydraulics are used. An attached booklet allows children to make connections between the hydraulic systems they are fabricating, and the usage of hydraulic systems are in real-world engineering disciplines. The Hydraulic Boxing Bots are great fun to play with siblings or with friends, since users build two robots and battle against each other. While building the kit can take a while, children practice not only spatial reasoning and fine motor skills, but also perseverance and engineering communication. ― Daisy Coble, Purdue Reviewer
Artificial Intelligence has been a blossoming topic this year that will only continue to grow. Introducing your children to the basics can give them a head start, and make a seemingly scary topic a lot more accessible. This toy takes the wide, complex topic of artificial intelligence and makes it simplistic enough that children as young as ten can understand it. An included booklet explains why and how artificial intelligence is used in different fields while the KAI toy allows children to train an “artificially intelligent” robot that they build themselves, practicing a hands-on understanding of the topic. Build a robot, gather data, and execute code with KAI: The Artificial Intelligence Robot by Thames & Kosmos. ― Daisy Coble, Purdue Reviewer
Technology is for everyone...at least, that's the moral of Ada & Zangemann: A Tale of Software, Skateboards, and Raspberry Ice Cream by Matthias Kirschner and Sandra Brandstätter. This beautifully written and illustrated story follows a technological revolution that occurs when an inventor becomes enraged by the use of his creations for fun, rather than their intended purposes. Encouraging creative, out-of-the-box engineering thinking, problem-solving, and perseverance, as well as endless tinkering, Kirschner and Brandstätter weave a story that will encourage children to question who owns the technology around them, and why. ― A.R. Miller, Purdue Reviewer
In this new world of internet access, teaching and prioritizing internet safety is of the utmost importance. Outsmart Cyberthreats by Start Engineering would be a great guide for many children new to the internet that introduces them to everything from ransomware to safe passwords. Interesting programming guides in the back of the book reinforce computational and logical thinking, walking children through the world of cracking passwords and explaining how short and simple passwords are less safe than long, complex ones. A perfect stocking stuffer or educational item, this guide would be perfect year-round for children learning to use the internet. While this guide is more informative than fun, reading like this is essential to maintain proper internet safety. ― A.R. Miller, Purdue Reviewer
A Day in Code: Python, written by Shari Eskenas and illustrated by Ana Quintero Villafraz, details the story of two siblings and their journeys in creating a method to convey stories to their computers through coding.
In this exciting and challenging board game, one player takes on the role of Moderator and creates a game structure using a rule that only they know. Other players take turns building their own structures to try and figure out what the rule is.
Do you have a blossoming Master Builder in your life? Ever wondered how to transition their love of LEGOs to actual engineering projects? The LEGO Engineer by Jeff Friesen may be for them! With beautiful photographs and detailed explanations, Friesen provides information on some of the world’s most amazing engineering inventions, and then gives detailed steps on how to build LEGO models of each. This book challenges children’s spatial reasoning skills and logical and creative thinking skills while teaching them more about the world built around them. ― A.R. Miller, Purdue Reviewer
While Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment is not an easy read, for the dedicated user, it is an invaluable tool and resource for engineering design learning.
Do you have a high schooler in your life who is looking at careers in STEM but does not know where to start? The Smart Student’s Guide to Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 by Mike Nager may be the perfect book for them. The art of combining everything from eco-friendly factories to new-age automation to even artificial intelligence, Nager convinces any reader that smart manufacturing is the wave of the future. Challenging an older reader’s logical and critical thinking skills, perseverance, and principles of science, engineering, and math, The Smart Student’s Guide to Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 is a great introduction to the 4th industrial revolution and opens reader’s minds to the career opportunities that lie ahead. ― A.R. Miller, Purdue Reviewer
