The best educational DIY STEM kits for curious children - Interesting Engineering (2024)

With the rise of new technologies, implementing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and introducing it to young minds is becoming increasingly important. People in STEM change the world, and you don’t have to be a professional to get involved in this revolution.

If you or your child are interested in figuring out how things work and learning skills of the future while also having fun, CircuitMess has got you covered.

CircuitMess is an EdTech startup developing unique DIY kits and making a difference in how we learn about STEM. They have created beginner-friendly kits which allow you to learn about electronics, coding, AI, and technology while building and coding your own game consoles, communication devices, DJ mixers, synthesizers, and more. What better way to encourage your child to explore STEM than by having fun?

What makes these kits unique?

CircuitMess educational kits are meant to teach your children how to solve problems confidently and develop new ideas. Instead of focusing on teaching hardware or software like other STEM projects, these kits are tailored to give makers the knowledge and experience to understand how both work together in powering any smart device.

Furthermore, these kits can be seen as a revolutionary tool for teaching children about technology. The unfortunate truth is that children are not that interested in STEM. And even though we live in an era of innovations, not many STEM learning tools are available. Most children will quickly lose interest if presented with plain, boring facts about electronics or technology. These days, it is screen time that dominates child play. So why not turn this screen time into something helpful where they’ll get the most out of it?

Children need proof that learning can be fun, engaging, creative, and practical. And DIY educational STEM toys are here to prove this. With so many kits to choose from, there’s always going to be one for your little inventor.

Check out our list below to get an overview of these fantastic DIY STEM projects.

1. CircuitPet – DIY handheld virtual pet

Practical and fun, this virtual pet will soon become your child’s new favorite toy. Like all the other CircuitMess kits, CircuitPet comes disassembled. Children will learn about soldering and electronic components through this creative hands-on project. The real fun comes after it’s assembled; CircuitPet teaches about video game mechanics, coding, and embedded programming.

When it comes to children’s development, there is so much that educational kits such as this one have to offer. This unique gadget can boost your child’s creativity and love for learning while strengthening their ability to focus and expanding their interests.

2. Nibble – Educational game console kit

This educational tool, disguised as a retro game console, satisfies your child’s love for playing games and promotes exploration and creativity. Don’t worry about assembling the kit because the included build guide makes the whole process easy and fun.

This DIY console comes preloaded with four retro games inspired by cult classics — Bonk, Invaderz, Snake, and SpaceRocks. Apart from that, Nibble allows you to code your own games in the CircuitBlocks code editor, a beginner-friendly graphical programming interface developed for everyone getting into embedded programming.

Enrich your child’s life, motivate them to produce creative solutions, and watch them enjoy exploring this fun challenge.

3. Jay-D: DIY DJ mixer kit

For all aspiring musicians, DJs, and music lovers, there is Jay-D, a DIY DJ mixer kit. Apart from teaching about sound production, microcomputers, and other electronic components, this mini mixer has almost all the essential functions of a professional mixer.

Jay-D allows you to control, mix, and manipulate tracks, create different sounds or make a light show with 144 individually controllable LEDs on board. Indeed a toy children are guaranteed to love, JAY-D makes learning STEM more accessible and more approachable.

4. Spencer – DIY voice assistant

Spencer is a DIY voice assistant that talks, lights up, connects to the internet, and understands simple voice commands. Spencer can also be customized and taught new voice commands if connected to the computer and coded.

This fun DIY project teaches children about artificial intelligence, voice recognition, and speech synthesis. Spencer was designed to provide the opportunity to learn through play and exploration. Most importantly, this voice assistant will develop your child’s imagination and enhance their fine motor skills, inspiring them to become future scientists, engineers, and innovators.

5. Byteboi – An advanced DIY game console

The most extraordinary thing about these DIY kits is that they encourage knowledge application and critical thinking in a fun and engaging way.Byteboi is a retro game console that allows you to explore the joy of pre-loaded mini-games, puzzles, and adventures. On top of that, it enables you to make your own games and bring your animations to life.

Additionally, this DIY game console can be used to navigate Wheelson, a DIY Self-Driving Car Kit introduced below.

6. Wheelson – A DIY self-driving car kit

Autonomous cars are the future, and CircuitMess will show you how it works.

This tiny wheeled robot has a camera and a microcomputer. You can program it to navigate a small road while driving autonomously, just like an autonomous car. It has built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so you can wirelessly connect it to other devices.

Wheelson also has an LCD where you can see what the robot sees. When applying different filters and computer vision algorithms, you’ll see an additional output on the screen so that you can understand how robots see and interpret the world around them.

This AI Self-Driving Car will provide your child with a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and illustrate how STEM subjects don’t have to be too difficult. Additionally, if you expose your children to STEM in an engaging way, this will give them a sense of courage and confidence.

7. Synthia – DIY digital music sampler

If you’re a true music lover looking for a special music machine, look no further because Synthia has everything you might need.

Synthia is a music machine that combines the functions of a sampler, drum machine, sequencer, and synthesizer, as well as teaches about digital sound production. There are five tracks you can use to make your perfect sound mix and 121 onboard LEDs that you can combine to create a custom light show.

Of course, Synthia is also here to teach coding new functions, making it easy for beginners to get into physical computing.

8. Chatter – A DIY wireless communicator

This DIY Wireless Communicator is here to inspire the next generation of innovators by encouraging tech use and instilling a passion for learning. Chatter uses long-range, low-power communication, which encodes information similar to how dolphins and bats communicate.

Unlike the regular phone, this device does not need a cellular network or a SIM card because it creates its own wireless network and communicates with other Chatter devices you’ve paired it with.

With Chatter, you can create avatars, customize chat features, play games and send personalized texts. Of course, Chatter will also teach you about soldering, coding, embedded programming, and video game mechanics.

9. Wacky Robots – Fun And Educational Soldering Practice Kits

This bundle with quirky robots is all you need to get started with electronics. Perfect for children aged 9+, this beginner-friendly 16-piece kit includes five soldering badges, each introducing a different aspect of electronics.

These are meant to improve technology skills and teach about LEDs, capacitors, intentionally unbalanced motors, resistance, Ohm’s law, and more.

10. Batmobile – A DIY AI-powered intelligent robot car

Last but certainly not least, CircuitMess empowers children to become true STEM superheroes with their Batmobile – A DIY AI-powered intelligent robot car. Learning how autonomous vehicles work, how to code a microcomputer, how computers track objects, and how to develop your own computer vision algorithm – these are just some of the things you can learn with the CircuitMess Batmobile.

The best thing about it? Even though these topics may seem complex, they will be introduced in a simple, easy-to-understand, and, most importantly, hands-on way.

Conclusion

Choosing gifts can be a hard thing to do. But one thing’s certain – if you want to provide your child with the intellectual foundations for future inventors and facilitate a more positive feeling about learning, these DIY STEM could be just what you need.

Check out CircuitMess’s Website and get these DIY STEM kits at 30%off using the discount code IE30. Make haste and get one of these just in time for Christmas!