Best stem robot toys for girls



STEM toys designed for girls are a great way to inspire girls to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while being tons of fun at the same time. After extensive research, our top pick for best STEM toy for girls this year is the littlebits Rule Your Room Kit.

 However, all children are different, and you really need to match the toy to their interests (and your budget!) – skip straight to the reviews, to make an informed decision.

Before we get to the reviews, if you’re new to the concepts, you may be wondering why we believe STEM toys for girls are so important, but to answer that question we will have to dive into some STEMtistics!

Do Robotic Pool Cleaners Really Work
https://www.robotsden.com/do-robotic-pool-cleaners-really-work

The Importance of STEM Toys for Girls

When it comes to STEM fields, women are massively underrepresented. In the USA women made up just 26% of the computing workforce and 13% of the engineering in 2016. A similar story can be found in other developed nations, with women only making up 23% of the core STEM workforce in the UK. Given that jobs in these sectors earn significantly more on average than non-STEM careers, it is vital for wage equality that women become better represented in these fields. But how?

Research has shown time and time again that there is no difference in science and math ability of boys and girls, so the aptitude argument can no longer be used to explain the shortfall. To contrast, we now know gender stereotyping to be one of the major causes, with studies showing the beliefs about what subjects are for what genders can be formed as early as 6 years old! These ideas then go on to influence everything from basic interests to career choices.

So the age old notion that girls should play with dolls & kitchen sets and boys with building blocks is not only outdated, but harmful to child development. We think that changing this paradigm is essential to help break gender stereotypes and ensure girls have equal opportunities to pursue STEM. That aside, the STEM toys for girls below can also help develop valuable skills like coding, engineering and design through interactive challenges. What’s not to love?

Engineering toys for girls have a big role to play in getting more girls in STEM fields later in life. Founded by two female engineers from Stanford University, Roominate was created to ”inspire the next generation of innovators”. The kits enable you to build your own structures using easy-to-fit together parts. You can then customize the inside by building furniture, staircases and adding stickers.

Keyword arduino robot arm source code
https://www.robotsden.com/7-arduino-robotic-arm-project-ideas-tutorial-plus-source-code

Additionally, some sets come with motors and electrical components which allow you to make things like an elevator, spinning windmill, carousel and more. The company also released an app allowing you to control and connect the different components. It’s like your very own mini smart-home!

Since being named the #1 toy of the year in Time Magazine a few years ago, the startup has expanded into an impressive range. From RV’s, to amusement parks, to mansions, the sets are all compatible with each other so your kids can let their imaginations run wild. We think Roominate is a top STEM toy for girls to develop engineering skills, and the best part is it’s super affordable. It’s easy to see why these multi-award winning sets make a great STEM toy for girls to foster an interest in engineering.

Produced by consumer robotics company Anki, Cozmo is the artificial intelligence (AI) robot you’ve only ever seen in movies. Reminiscent of Disney’s Wall-E, Cozmo is just as cute and packed full of emotions and moods which develop the more you hang out! Download the app to play games and unlock new skills, features and levels – this is where Cozmo really comes to life.

If it loses it gets sad (only for a little while!), if Cozmo wins the robot is happy. If bored, it will nudge you to play, if you ignore Cozmo it can get cranky. Sometimes it’s easy to forget it isn’t alive – especially when state of the art facial recognition software enables Cozmo to call your name!

remote control car with night vision

https://www.robotsden.com/best-remote-control-car-with-night-vision

Cozmo Software Development Kit (SDK)

That’s fun and all, but the Cozmo SDK is easily the most interesting and exciting feature. This platform allows you to write your own custom code for Cozmo and create entirely new experiences. Anki provide 10+ example scripts to get things started, where you can learn how to program Cozmo to sing a scale or patrol for intruders. But after this it’s up to you to experiment with the code and see what you can do…
And Anki don’t just give access to low level functionality like movement and sensors, but also let you program high level behaviours and functions like animations, facial recognition and localization systems. What’s more, Cozmo can connect to 3rd party APIs like IFTTT and Twitter, which opens up a whole host more possibilities. The hardware is so advanced that even researchers are using Cozmo! This kit is full of potential and we think it is really one of the best coding toys for girls out there. If you want to find out more about the SDK, click here.
If you think this might all sound a little too advanced, Anki have also created a graphical drag and drop styled programming option in the App. This simplifies the whole process as kids simply move blocks of commands into sequences and execute the program, so is a good option for complete beginners to understand the basics.

Cozmo provides hours of fun at the same time as teaching your kids the essential skill of coding. Our best STEM toys for girls list wouldn’t be complete without this awesome robotics set from Anki!
Similar to Roominate, GoldieBlox is designed to develop mechanical engineering skills through creative exploration. Aimed at a slightly younger audience, this building toy comes with a storybook where kids follow Goldie the inventor & her friends on adventures.

toy robot that blows smoke
https://www.robotsden.com/toy-robot-that-blows-smoke-gifts-to-delight-your-inquisitive-kid

In order to solve Goldie’s problems and challenges, you have to build fun structures and machines. These include anything from ice cream trucks to parade floats to a fully-functioning guitar! We really like this story line styled learning experience and think it is great for keeping kids engaged.

The most popular set has to be the ‘Spinning Machine‘. The set comes with all the pieces to make a full functioning belt drive machine. The story hook is lots of fun and very relatable for the kids – Goldie builds the spinning machine to help her dog chase his tail, but then all her friends also want to join in the fun! The high quality and popularity of this STEM toy for girls is demonstrated by all the awards it has won, including Educational Toy of the Year, People’s Choice Toy of the Year, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy – Platinum and Parent’s Choice – Gold award. Impressive!

Girls are more engaged with building when what they are making has a purpose, says founder Debbie Sterling. So the story-line is really what sets GoldieBlox apart from the rest. If you are looking for something a little simpler than Roominate, this is a great place to start for younger girls.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best Coding Robot Toys for Kids

Tips to Buying the Best Robot Toys for Kids in 2020

What are Robots and its facts?