Top 10 Best Educational Toys for 11 to 12 Year Olds: Buying Guide & Review

As parents, we’re always looking forward to guiding and provide our tweenies with the best toys possible. As your 11 or 12 year old active child continues to learn in school, he would want to take his learning at home and continue to explore through experience. This is what exactly what educational toys made for. They purposely built for children to apply what they learn and prepare them for the future lessons they’re going to take in the schooling field.

Our top educational toys’ list

We have included ten educational toys that are perfectly suited for tweenies who are in their 11th and 12th milestones. We have made sure that they are not only the best in the market, but can allow your child to learn meaningful experiences first-hand. Most of our picks are interactive and focuses on STEM learning.

We have included fun and engaging toys from robotic kits to science sets. All are an engaging way to allow your child to acquire knowledge through games. We are sure your children would love one or two from our list, take a look!

1. Mindstorms Robot Kit – Best Educational Toys for 11 to 12 Year Olds

Does your tweeny child love to build? Then, the LEGO Mindstorms will be a perfect present he would love to have. Your child will be able to build different robots from this kit and will be able to code movements by downloading the apps on their tablets. It allows your child to apply what they learn in their programming lessons. The robot is pretty interactive and can talk, walk, think, and do what the things your child can imagine. It’s quite fascinating to watch, and it allows your child to learn STEM in much fun and in a more engaging way.

The advanced programming features will also put your tweeny child in advance learning regarding engineering and technology. The program has a drag and drop interface, which allows your child to enhance they’re fine motor skills in the process. Your child will be able to create an infrared remote control, which can be very cool to set. If your tweeny child has friends or loves to play with you together with their toys, then you will also be able to help your child with his social and emotional development.

What we like about it

We like the fact that it seamlessly helps your tweeny child to pace up better with this robotic classes. There are little parts, which also helps your child to develop his fine motor skills. We also love the fact that it sparks the children’s imagination, which helps them become more creative at home and in school. LEGO is a great present for kids who can’t get enough of building sets. This will help kids to get themselves in more exploration play.

There will be 5 default models that your tweeny can build with this single set, which he can see on the manual. We also love the fact that the guide comes with a lot of colorful diagrams and illustrations, which makes it way easier and more fun to build something. We also love it that it makes all the lessons related to robotics much easier for kids to understand. It also engages young children to explore more and become creative. The instruction booklet is pretty easy to understand. Building the basic robot model may come quite easy, but it will become more difficult and more challenging as your tweeny try to build the other models.

2. STEM Curriculum Kit

Are they looking for fun and a more engaging way to learn your kids more about electronics? The Snap Circuits is a great kit that helps your child learn about STEM. The manuals are quite easy to follow, and there are 750 projects that your child can engage themselves with. Your kids have probably learned about wiring and circuits at an early age; this electronic kit will help them remember what they have learned better. It also helps your child to develop their fine motor skills, since there are small pieces that they have to put together to make the bell ring and for the bulb to light.

The kit is super easy to use and allows your child to be imaginative and care less about the manual’s instructions as they continue to learn how the wiring and circuit work. It made with high-quality materials, which puts you at great ease whenever your kids are playing with this set. This kit sets your children on training and learns about Science and electronic. The kids will love to spend long hours trying to complete different projects. It won the top 10 educational toy awards and had satisfied hundreds of parents.

What we like about it

We like the fact that it prepares your kids to learn about the different wiring and circuit; it takes their learning further compared to what they learned prior. We also love the fact that there are over 750 projects that your kids can experiment with and learn from. If your tweeny has been loving to go to the Science fair, this might be the perfect way to remind your kid with the big love he has for science. It’s a wonderful gift that we’re quite sure every tweeny would want to play with.

We also love the fact that it teaches your tweenies about how they can save battery power. It’s a great set that we’re quite sure your child would love to learn with. The battery eliminator helps in giving every project, which pretty much saves you a lot of energy. It’s a wonderful kit for any tweeny who would love to learn more about electronics. Since your child can play with this set with his friends and other peers, it also helps your child with his social and emotional development.

This set just literally makes it super fun and engaging to learn about science and stuff. They won’t easily get bored playing with this set since there are tons of experiments your child can experience completing.

3. Minecraft Computer Kit

With the Piper Computer kit, your children will be able to learn electronic circuits by assembling it. It pushes your children’s creative and exploration play, which will benefit them after they encounter more technology lessons in their classes. And just like the hundreds of satisfied users of this kit, your kids will be able to make and create programmable modules which have the functionality actually to interact with your Raspberry Pi Edition of Minecraft world. It’s an amazing kit that allows your child to build and assemble physical electronics at first-hand.

Your tweeny will be able to build real electronics in which they can interact with; this included LED lights, buzzers, sensors, switches, and buttons. It’s an amazing set that allows your tweeny to get in touch with technology and see more— more than just a peep in the window. With this kit, they will feel more involved and become interactive with the stuff they can do with it. The Raspberry PI Edition dashboard allows your child to control his Minecraft character better.

What we like about it

We love the fact that this set allows your child to build and learning to code at the same time. There will be 50 and more puzzle-like pieces that your child has to build power-up boxes, which they will find fascinating and super cool. Your tweeny would feel as if they are assembling the first computer that would allow them to play their Minecraft character way better. It also requires teamwork, which helps your child step up his social and emotional development. The kit comes with full-scale blueprint instructions that your child will find fun and engage in following.

We also love the fact that your child will be able to apply what they learn in their coding lessons in a much funnier way. This pretty much teaches young learners more about engineering and programming in a much interactive way. Also, we love the fact that it teaches your child about cool electronics and programming concepts step by step.

If you happen to have a kid who into Minecraft, this will be a huge hit at his upcoming presentation. It provides amazing experiences for your kids, and they would find it fascinating to play even for long hours. It helps them to have a special sort of childhood experience.

4. mBot Robot Kit

The mBot is an amazing way for your tweeny to learn more about programming and to experience them first-hand. Your tweeny will be able to create cool stuff with the mBot by combining it with Lego and other kits. It pushes your child’s imaginary and exploration buttons, which makes it more engaging and fun to play for him. It improves your child’s creativity, which is pretty crucial to have as he continues to learn about life.

It also helps your child to shape his logical skills better; your child will be able to learn important entry-level coding skills which he could use later in life. When code knowledge integrated with games, it attracts your tweeny to learn about coding in a much more enjoyable and in a more engaging way. It’s a great kit that also allows your child to learn and study robotics. According to the study, the best way for anyone to learn is through first-hand experiences. As you allow your child to dive himself to kits, sets, and blocks, he is learning everything first-hand, which stores the learning all-in.

What we like about it

We like the fact that it educates young learners about programming and coding in a much cooler way. And your child can integrate his Lego kit and build something even more fascinating with the MakeBlock. It comes with an app that allows your child to learn about the different functions the mBot can do. The app has a drop-and-drag interface, which allows your child to enhance they’re fine motor skills at the same time as well. Kids always learn best when they learn things through games.

We also love the fact that this kit comes in bright colors, which can pretty much capture your child’s attention for a little bit longer. This could be your child’s first DIY project that will allow him to think creatively. The mBot is easy to assemble; it does not come with any instructions since it tends to promote your child’s logical and creativity skills. This might not be so appealing for parents who love products that come with guides and manuals.

There are tons of add-on parts and packages that your child can use and experiment with more DIY forms. As you can tell, this kit aims for your tweeny to learn STEM in a much engaging way. We love the fact that there’s no manual included since it allows your child to use his cognitive and problem-solving skills to figure it all out. Putting it together is quite easy, it only takes around 20 minutes, and your child can play with it right away.

5. Robots Vehicle Kit

Is your child into creating and building little pieces into something big and fascinating? Then this kit will put your child into surprise. Your tweeny will be able to learn more about robotics, coding, and programming engagingly. What’s even more amazing is that after putting the pieces together, the robot comes to life. What could be cooler than that? Your child will love to learn through experience; they don’t want to experience fascinating stuff. In this kit, they will experience and build awesome robots first-hand.

The RoboticsU is way more than just a toy. It brings more than a sneak peeks to what technology operates. It allows your child to bring all kinds of robots to life. Your tweeny can try to build this robot together with his friends, which promotes a healthy exchange of thoughts, ideas, and experiences. There will be 400 versatile components and pieces; your child can try to build. This is a fun and fascinating way for parents and kids to learn about robotics. Since it’s fun and pushes your child’s imaginative and creativity buttons, he would put hours of play.

What we like about it

We like the fact that it’s more than just a toy, and it does not require prior experiences with programming and robotics. It’s a wonderful education toy that allows your tween to become imaginative and create something out of his imagination. It helps in sharpening their minds while building a stronger bond between your child and his playmates. With this kit, building amazing robots is made easy.

There will be a balance bot, rescue bot, and more robots your child could build. Your child can also download an app where he could watch “how-to” videos, and there are little quizzes that come afterward. It tests their comprehensive abilities through amazing and fascinating activities. This will help your tweeny with his coding classes at school and allow him to understand how the technology works.

6. CHEM C2000 (V 2.0)

If you notice your tweeny has been into experiments lately, the Thames & Kosmos CHEM will spark his interest. This will be a great gift for the little scientists you love and adore at home. It allows your child to perform various chemistry experiments, which would help him a lot in his future chem classes. Your tweeny will be able to see the world in a much fascinating way through fun and educational experiments.

There will be a palate of chemicals provides that your 11 or 12-year-old child can use with his experiments. It allows him to learn that simple or ordinary substances he can easily find in his surroundings could react differently when mixed with specific chemicals. It comes with a well-written manual that allows youngsters to learn about the basics of chemistry in a much easier way. There are safety glasses included in the set, which further makes it safer and easier for your little scientist to conduct his experiments.

What we like about it

We love the fact that it does help young learners to learn about different chemicals and how they react when put together. It’s cool stuff that we’re quite a very 11; a 12-year-old child would love to experience as part of their childhood. Various chemistry experiments presented in the manual, which is pretty fascinating for the younger kids to learn from. We like the fact that the instructions are all set out nicely for younger learners to comprehend them easily.

This is a great gift for a child who’s into chemistry. Every experiment is carefully explained step by step, so the instructions are set out in long passages, which might probably bore some kids who are not so interested in experiments and stuff. However, if your child does think chemistry is cool and fascinating and he loves finding more about different substances and how could 2 purple chemicals come out all clear when mixed, then this would be mind-blowing for your 11 or 12-year-old child. Just do note that some experiments require heating and stuff, so it does require adult supervision.

7. Forces, Energy, and Motion Set

We know how easy kids lost interest in their toys. If the toy looks the same all the time and doesn’t do much, they will most likely leave it after a day or two playing with it. That’s why building toys are great choices if you want a toy that will keep your kid’s interest for a longer time. K’NEX Education – Forces, Energy, and Motion Set comes with 442 colorful pieces that will allow your kids to build a wide range of models. It made of 100% plastic, so it is very light and easy to move around. They can build 11 types of vehicle models out of the pieces. Your kids will have to use their creative minds to different vehicles. It comes with parts like tires, connectors, cogs, and more. Building their favorite vehicle model is made easy with this set.

What we like about it

K’NEX Education – Forces, Energy, and Motion Set is a great choice for your kids. It allows them to create different types of vehicles using the pieces included in it. The vehicle models that they can build works as a real vehicle. It can be pushed around and play with. Your kids will surely have a lot of fun. It is perfect for kids who are aspiring to become engineers.

8. Toys Test Tube Discoveries

This set gives a lot of fun to your kids. They can perform a couple of activities with this. Most of the things that your kids can do with it are fascinating. They can grow face ice with the tools found in this set. They can also play slime that seems to defy gravity. There is also a bubbling volcano that can turn into a lava lamp. Its all about making things that seem impossible. Your kids will be amazed at the things that they can do. There are over 20 activities that they can do with it. They can bring their friends and watch them perform these experiments.

Your kids are not just having fun. They are also learning a lot of things from this activity. Performing the activities themselves enhances their knowledge about different things. They will feel like real scientists while doing the activities. The test tubes included in the set are quite durable too. They not made of glass, so your kids won’t be able to break them. The holder is also effective. Pretty much all of the things that your kids will need are already available.

What we like about it

Of course, we like the things that your kids can do with this set. It is almost like magic. However, it is not magic but science. Still, they are amazing to watch. Even adults will wonder what is happening. It is perfect for kids aging 8 years and up.
Most importantly, the experiments or activities in this set are not complicated. They are very easy to do. Your kids won’t need assistant from adults. The instructions are clear and simple too.

9. Electronics Space Kit

If your kids like science, then this kit is perfect for them. They will surely learn a lot of things about science while playing around with this kid. It designed in collaboration with engineers and NASA scientists. So, if your kids like to know about outer space too, they will love this one. There are 12 modules, and 5 NASA lessons plan included in the kit, so it is a highly informative kit. Your kids will also learn about kinetic, potential, and electromagnetic energy.

What we like about it

This kit is also great for teachers and students. It is very easy to use and will allow you to learn more about science. Giving it to your kids is a nice idea. Aside from they will be having a lot of fun from it, they will also learn a lot. It also said to designed with will help from NASA scientists and engineers so you can count on its effectiveness.

10. Programmable Robot Kit

Learning everything in advance is always a good thing. This kit is perfect for kids trying to learn more about robotics. It also gives kids a head start on programming. They can do a variety of things with this kit. They can transform it into a rubber band gun robot, interactive game robot, and a lot more.

What we like about it

Robolink 11 in 1 Programmable Robot Kit prepares your kids for programming lessons in their school. It is also a nice addition to the home-school curriculum of Robolink students. Overall, it is a lot of fun to play with. Your kids will have a good time with this amazing kit.