Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School science & engineering toys for young kids

A few updates on this thread from age 8-9:

Turing tumble - marble based mazes / logic puzzles
https://www.turingtumble.com/

Rush hour game - logic based puzzles
https://www.thinkfun.com/products/rush-hour/

Tinker crates You'll want to pick through these, as some topics are far better than others, but DS enjoyed some of the Tinker crates around age 7-8:
https://www.kiwico.com/tinker?utm_s...2NRjDy6zBRAveJzAT6VhlIZmUhhoCMzAQAvD_BwE

Foldscope - a portable, virtually indestructible pocket microscope
https://www.foldscope.com/

Terrific field guides for biology - because books ARE games and toys in our household...

Mycology / foraging:

• Roger Phillips - "Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America"
• Gary Lincoff - "National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms"
• Kikkerland - Foragers Playing Cards

Entomology:

• Joseph Wilson & Olivia Carril - "The Bees in Your Backyard"

Lego power systems design books

• Yoshihito Isogawa - "The Lego Power Functions Idea Book - Machines and Mechanisms"
• Yoshihito Isogawa - "The Lego Power Functions Idea Book - Cars and Contraptions"

Great digital resources we've used - a motley mix of YouTube(YT) and other resources

• King of Random (YT)- https://www.youtube.com/user/01032010814
• SciShow Psych (YT) - https://www.youtube.com/c/SciShowPsych
• Neuro Transmissions (YT) - https://www.youtube.com/user/neurotransmissions
• Physics Girl (YT) - https://www.youtube.com/user/physicswoman
• Veritasium (YT) - https://www.youtube.com/user/1veritasium
• Phet @ UColorado - https://phet.colorado.edu/
• Praxilabs - https://praxilabs.com/en/virtual-labs
• Science Buddies - https://www.sciencebuddies.org/
• Can't recall all of the sims we've used, but we pick through these virtual labs (definitely check out "Open Neuroscience Education"- a bit advanced, but drives engagement for DS; "Build Your Own Brain", and "Royal Society of Chemistry") - https://libguides.mines.edu/oer/simulationslabs
• CodeMonkey (for basic coding) - https://app.codemonkey.com/
• Planet Maker - http://planetmaker.apoapsys.com/
• BioMan - https://biomanbio.com/

...whew! I'll drop back in with edits if I can think of more go-tos. As you can see, the pandemic has treated us well wrt science play.