It seems like there is always a good reason to give a gift. In fact, giving and receiving gifts is recognized as a love language, or how some people prefer to receive and show appreciation. So, whether it’s for the holidays, a birthday, or as a reward for making good grades, educational gifts for kids are a wildly popular option for a variety of ages and skill levels. But you may be asking yourself, how do I pick the right educational gift for the special kids in my life?
To make it a little easier for you, we’ve compiled our favorite STEM and educational gifts in this guide to help you make an informed decision so you can give the gift of learning year-round. Let’s jump right in!
12 Educational Gifts for Kids
When it comes to selecting an appropriate and engaging educational gift for a special kid or teen in your life, it’s important to consider a few key pieces of information about the recipient, including age, skill level, and interests.
Educational Gifts For 4-to-7-Year-Olds
When shopping for a educational gift for a 4-to-7-year-old kid, programmable robots and kits that are approachable and easy to get started with are ideal, as many kids in this age range are just starting out in their STEM education journey.
1. Sphero indi Student Kit - $150
Sphero indi is our most approachable, entry-level learning robot designed for kids ages 4+. indi is driven and programmed by color, so a device is not required, offering an engaging and screenless programming experience for kids of all ages and abilities.
With indi, kids can build mazes and create their own puzzles, learning valuable and important problem-solving and computational thinking skills along the way.
As your kids’ experience and skills level up they can reconfigure how indi responds to each color in the free Sphero Edu Jr app for an entirely new learning experience.
2. Sphero Mini - $50
Mini, our teeniest, tiniest, robot is small on the outside but has big tech and capabilities on the inside. Sphero Mini is a great robot for kids or beginners who want to learn how to code through fun activities, like building mazes or obstacle courses.
Educational Gifts For 8-to-13-Year-Olds
As kids grow in their knowledge and experience in STEM and computer science, the types of educational gifts that will work best for them are ones that progress with their learning and skills. These programmable robots and STEM kits are ideal for kids and tweens ages 8-13.
3. Sphero Mini At-Home Learning Kit - $90
Is there an aspiring builder or engineer in your family? The Sphero Mini Activity Kit offers a 15-piece construction kit, pins and cones, and 30 activity cards providing hours of hands-on making, creating, and fun. With included step-by-step instructions, kids can easily get started on their own or with the guidance of a parent or caregiver.
4. Sphero BOLT+ - $200
Our newest round robot, BOLT+, makes a great educational gift for kids (and kids at heart) who want to learn the foundations of coding and programming and eventually level up to more advanced STEAM activities and computer science projects.
Educational Gifts For Teens
Teenagers can be hard to shop for, we get it. However, tech tools that engage their computational thinking and problem-solving skills while allowing their creativity and imagination to flow are always cool. (Or so we think!)
5. Sphero RVR+ - $280
RVR+ is Sphero’s revolutionary take on the programmable robot and is optimized for the middle and high school classrooms, makerspaces, and more advanced learners. It’s drivable right out of the box, packed with a diverse suite of sensors, and built for customization. RVR+ is expandable and made for novice to advanced programmers.
6. Sphero Blueprint Engineering Kit - $450
Designed for middle and high school learners, the Blueprint Engineering enables students to learn foundational mechanical and electrical engineering concepts as they design and build working, powered prototypes.
More Educational Gifts for Kids: Stocking Stuffer Bots & Bits
Looking for a perfectly-sized, inexpensive educational gift for a stocking stuffer? Here are more fun options to explore!
7. Sphero Mini Soccer - $50
Shopping for a soccer fanatic? The Sphero Mini Soccer is a great educational gift idea. It packs a ton of fun into a tiny programmable robotic soccer ball the size of a ping pong ball, perfect for stuffing a stocking. Practice drills with the included cones, or code a goal against friends in a head-to-head match!
8. Sphero Mini Golf - $50
FORE! Score a hole-in-one with the Sphero Mini Golf for the putting enthusiast in your life. This tiny programmable golf ball looks strikingly real, so it’s also a perfect bot to pull pranks on your friends on the green.
Educational Gifts for Kids To Take Their Sphero Robots Up A Notch
Need a gift for an already-outfitted Sphero robot enthusiast? Take their learning, coding, and creating further with these Sphero accessories.
9. Sphero Code Mat - $180
This large, interactive, two-sided mat offers a simple, accessible way to learn block-based coding, basic math principles, and collaborative problem-solving with any round Sphero robot. Choose from the City and Golf or the Soccer and Space Code Mat for endless hours of play-based, hands-on learning.
10. indi Code Mat and Literacy Cards - $180
This two-sided, interactive coding mat with accompanying literacy activity cards and guide with standards-aligned lesson ideas offers endless opportunities for screenless learning and fun with Sphero indi and was designed to support ELA curriculum.
11. littleBits RVR+ Topper Kit - $125
Sphero RVR+ littleBits Topper Kit combines the best of Sphero with the best of littleBits in an easy and approachable kit that allows you to fully utilize RVR+'s onboard capabilities with littleBits adaptability to create your own inventions. This is a great gift for the aspiring hacker or maker in your life that already has a Sphero RVR or the new RVR+ robot.
12. Sphero Terrain Park - $20
Compatible with Sphero BOLT, the Terrain Park accessory set provides five challenging configurations that put your skills to the ultimate test. Ramp, roll and ride the rails.
Shopping For Educational Gifts
It’s a great year to get your shopping for educational gifts done early! Find great gifts and more on sphero.com and give the gift of fun, hands-on learning to a special person in your life this year.
