21 Best Kids Science Kits: Your Ultimate List (Updated!)

Meant primarily for elementary school students, the Ciro 12-In-1 Solar Robot Kit may also be used to flesh out STEM lessons for middle school students as well. This kit includes 190 pieces such as gears, plates, tires, and power components meant to build 12 different robots. Step by step instructions are included to complete each robot build.

No batteries are included with this kit because you won’t need them; the solar panel harnesses energy from the sun to crawl, roll, and even float on the water. Along with STEM concepts, the solar panel power solution also facilitates the discussion of clean energy and the science of climate change. Robot models include versions that walk, paddle, roll, and even slither. With this much building fun, your kids won’t realize they’re learning about advanced scientific concepts until it’s too late.

No tools are necessary with the kit however you may need some wire nips to clip out the various pieces for initial preparation. All of the pieces snap or slide together. If you kid likes to build with LEGO, the Ciro 12-In-1 Solar Robot Kit will be right up their alley. 

Let me start this review by saying there are literally dozens of cheap, do-it-yourself rocket kits out there and hundreds of videos demonstrating how to build your own water rocket setup. But if you’re looking for a high-quality kids science kit that moms and dads can excitedly enjoy as well, look no further than the StratoLauncher IV Ultimate Water Rocket Launcher. 

This kit features an easy to assemble launcher made of aluminum, stainless steel, and thick plastic along with brass fittings and a 125 PSI safety valve. In other words, you’ve got a high-quality launcher capable of throwing a 2-liter soda bottle over 350 feet in the sky. That’s. AWESOME. It includes the launcher, “StratoFins” for your 2-liter bottle (.5L, 1L, and 1.25L sizes are compatible as well), the ball head, and quick-connect with valve (you’ll need to supply your own 2-gallon tank sprayer and bicycle air pump).

Each launch requires only one cup of water so your own 2-gallon tank sprayer can accommodate 30 launches. There’s a QR code on the side of the box that, when scanned, will provide you with full assembly instructions, launch procedures, upgrade kit information, videos, and more. You’ll need an adjustable wrench, 4mm and 5mm hex wrenches, and a Phillips head screwdriver. 

The screw-nozzle takes advantage of a universal launch system that does a couple of great things for your kids. First, this water rocket launcher eliminates problems like a launch tube not fitting your bottle, o-ring wear, or accidental launches. Second, the lift-offs are several times slower so you can show your littles more of the blast-off while the altitude is just as high or higher. Simply put, this kids science kit provides more opportunities for education.

Once primed with water and air, squeeze the black cable lever and your rocket is airborne. This is an incredibly cool way to learn about aeronautics and rocket science. Consider upgrading your rockets with a parachute or acquire more StratoFins to add more rockets to your fleet!

Yes, this is more expensive than other kits but consider this: there is nothing worse than spending money on a learning kit that doesn’t work, is frustrating to operate, or ends up being a complete bait-and-switch (and waste of time). Spend a little more and you will thank yourself for it. This water rocket kit ROCKS. Highly recommended!

Teaching and learning about biology requires some understanding of the microscopic world. There’s no better way to study that world than with the Omax Compound Binocular Microscope. Make no mistake: this microscope is a tool for learning, not a toy. It requires adult supervision for students younger than 12 years of age and even then, it would be a good idea for mom or dad to show them how to use it.

This microscope features eight magnification levels from 40X to a whopping 2000X. It’s perfect for looking at the structure of fungi, protozoa, cell walls, membranes, organelles, and even the nucleus in cells. The coaxial coarse focus knob and the fine focus knob both adjust to sharpen the look at your chosen subject slide. There is a variable LED light that can be brightened or darkened depending on your needs and without the heat of an incandescent or halogen bulb.

Maybe the nicest feature is the mechanical stage with an adjustable handle for smooth scanning of the slide. It provides full movement of the sample so instead of moving the slide, the entire stage moves in X, Y, and Z dimensions. This is extremely useful when centering in on your subject or attempting to locate a point of interest with microscopic items. The Omax Compound Binocular Microscope can easily connect to a USB digital camera (sold separately) to record what you see in the microscope and save it into your computer as a picture or a video clip.

This microscope comes with a sliding binocular viewing head, two pairs of widefield eyepieces (WF10X, WF20X), four achromatic objectives (4X, 10X, 40X, 100X), large double layer mechanical stage with scale, Abbe NA1.25 condenser with iris diaphragm, coaxial coarse and fine focus knobs, and variable LED illumination. It also includes 100 blank glass slides, 100 cover slips, and 100 sheets of lens cleaning paper.

Let’s face it: robots are becoming more and more common as the days go on. Kids will need to know how they function as well as the basic programming requirements moving forward. What better way to learn about these scientific concepts than by building the Elegoo Uno R2 Smart Robot Car? 

This kids science kit is an incredible introduction to STEM concepts such as programming, assembling electronics, and robotics knowledge. The kit includes 24 types of modules such as obstacle avoidance, line tracing, and infrared remote control. The car, when put together, also can be controlled via phones and tablets using either Android or iOS.

It’s easy to assemble. All of the modules feature XH2.54 ports to make it easier to put the car together and take it apart to fix errors while learning. A small tool kit is included along with parts, fasteners, and cables all designed for a fun project experience.

The included tutorial features fully rendered instructions for how to assemble the robot from scratch. All of the necessary programs and codes are available. The Elegoo Uno R2 Smart Robot Car is excellent for kids 12 years of age and up and requires some very basic electronic knowledge. It’s an excellent option for parents and children to learn together. 

MEL Science is an award-winning educational company from the UK that strives to make science interesting and cool while keeping things serious for students. Their MEL Chemistry Experiment Subscription Kit is an interesting idea: each month they’ll send an entire experiment kit directly to your house. The graphics are interesting and colorful while the experiment subjects are incredibly diverse such as the taming of acid rain, metal corrosion, chemistry for spies, chemistry in motion, and so many more.

The initial starter kit comes with a VR headset, safety glasses, gloves, beakers, tools, and instruments as well as the “Chemistry of Monsters” set. That set features a sugar snake and a foam eruption experiment with enough materials to conduct each activity twice. Science is all about exploration and discovery. These MEL Science kits are great for engaging students aged 10 years and up (kids as young as six may take part if a parent is around for guidance). Boredom is not allowed here.

The entire subscription consists of 24 separate chemistry sets, each covering a particular topic with two to three experiments about that topic. By the time you receive all of the sets, there are 80 experiments to conduct. You may cancel the subscription anytime you like. These kids science kits are fun, hands-on, and designed to provide serious engagement. 

While some may not consider what used to be called “home economics” a science, I beg to differ. Not only does one learn to care for oneself with home ec, but cooking is completely scientific involving biology, chemistry, and physics all with one activity. The AeroGarden Harvest 360 Indoor Hydroponic Garden is an excellent way to show your young ones how food is created at any time of the year. 

Because the plants grow in water, not soil, there’s less of a mess to deal with and it provides an excellent opportunity to talk about alternative growing technologies with your children. Learning where food comes from may encourage your littles to make better nutritional choices for themselves as they grow older. The concepts of world health and understanding agriculture are also important scientific ideas that your kids will really enjoy.

This kids science kit comes with six types of herb seeds and a small bottle of plant nutrients. The control panel of the machine tells you when to add water, reminds you when to add plant food, and will turn the grow lights on and off automatically. While perhaps not as exciting as raising a pet, your kids may think it’s pretty cool to check the garden each day as something to be responsible for.

After your seeds have matured into full-grown plants, AeroGarden has different seed kits available such as heirloom salad greens and tomato plants to start your growing again and further scientific exploration. They also have much larger gardens for growing vegetables inside your house. 

Learn about reactions between solids, liquids, and gases using this Chemistry C500 Kit from Thames & Kosmos. Chemistry isn’t just about memorizing the Periodic Table from a book; it’s much more fun to make things happen. Discover what effects that acids and bases have on each other. Make solutions that fizz and foam and all the while your kids will be learning life long lessons they’ll take with them into college and beyond.

The kit includes an experiment manual, basic chemicals, instruments, and eye protection for the little one. The C500 Kit is a great learning tool for you to actually teach your child about chemical compositions, solutions, and reactions. Adult supervision is definitely required for anyone under the age of 14 but that’s part of the fun.

Experiments include writing messages with invisible ink and using metals and salts in electrochemical experiments. This kit goes far beyond books and charts to show your kid why science is great. It’s a great introduction to a wider world of science kits. Be aware that some items such as rubbing alcohol and a 9-volt battery involved with some of the experiments are not included.

We all know how important (and ubiquitous) computers are in everyday life. What isn’t so clear is how to get kids to understand how to build, create, and program computers. Enter the Piper Build-A-Computer Kit. It includes all the components needed to build a computer that isn’t just a toy but actually works. Parts in the kit consist of a wooden case that kids assemble, a Raspberry Pi, a 9-inch screen, a DIY speaker, a rechargeable battery, a mouse, and other components.

Once the computer is built, Piper’s software guides kids through lessons that teach them how to program and code using an immersive electronic world. There are eleven progressively challenging projects based on the Blockly system created by Google. It uses drag-and-drop visual coding to teach children how it’s all done.

The screen is an impressive 1024 x 600 HDMI resolution and the kit is designed to be rebuilt again and again and again. And because the Raspberry Pi core was made to be customized, this kids science kit is only the beginning of what this computer can do. With suitable upgrades and components, kids can take this Build-A-Computer and really pop some digital wheelies. 

Klutz has produced some incredible craft and activity kits but their LEGO Chain Reactions book may be their undisputed masterpiece. This kids science kit includes an 80-page instruction manual, 33 LEGO pieces, six plastic balls, string, paper ramps, and other pieces so you and your little engineer can build ten different modules. 

Combined with your own LEGO bricks, the items in this kit can be used to construct machines that may be combined to create dozens of different chain reactions. Your machine might deliver a message, ring a bell, frustrate your cat, toss a gum wrapper in the trash, or simply just make your family the coolest physicists on the block.

Designed for kids eight years old and up, LEGO Chain Reactions uses creativity and building fun to teach physics and mechanical engineering in a way that a textbook just can’t touch. The book lays out directions that are clear to understand and provides helpful brick substitutions, suggestions to fix common issues, and explains the science behind each machine you build.

If you enjoy LEGO Chain Reactions, also check out LEGO Gadgets, also by Klutz. These books are amazing tools to get your kids ready to attend MIT one day.

Bonsai trees are an excellent way to teach your kids about biology and plant care. They’re also a tremendous amount of fun for your littles to help create and manage as the trees grow. The Bonsai Tree Seed Starter Kit from Garden Republic comes with four different types of seeds, potting mix soil pods, grow bags, bamboo plant markers, bonsai tweezers, instructions, and a wooden box for the grow bags to rest in.

Garden Republic makes available how-to links and easy-to-follow directions for a great growing experience for you and your kids. To begin growing your tiny trees with this kids science kit, hydrate the seeds and soil pods separately then combine in the grow bags. Within just a few days, you should see your trees begin to grow.

Tree varieties are Brazillian Rosewood, Flame Tree, Black Spruce, and Colorado Blue Spruce. All the seeds are produced using non-GMO methods. This kit is perfect for all types of experience levels, even novices, so it’s good for you and your children to learn from. Plus, there are enough seeds for a second try if something goes sideways. And to really boost your bonsai experience, take a look at this excellent eight-piece set of bonsai tools tailor-made for pruning, folding, and maintenance.

Okay, literally everyone on the planet (and most likely neighboring planets) know the juggernaut force known as LEGO. They have mastered the building toy genre, successfully marketed it to kids and adults alike, and have even created some darn fine movie entertainment. But did you know they have made incredible strides to make STEM learning accessible for kids all over the world?

The LEGO Mindstorms line, including this EV3 Robot Kit, is a masterpiece of using the coolness of building using LEGO bricks to encourage kids (and adults!) to learn coding, robotics, and electrical engineering. This particular set features over 600 pieces and an intelligent EV3 brick to build 17 different robotic designs, each with its own unique features. 

Your robots will walk, talk, grab, shoot, and more. The included servo motors and sensors make your creations react and move like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Programming can be accomplished using a handheld tablet and more advanced programming can be done on your PC or Mac. And did someone say use your mobile as a remote to make you a complete robotic master? Yeah, that’s right. 

And like everything else LEGO does, the Mindstorm bricks are compatible with all their other construction sets so you can get as creative as you want to with building alternate creations. Better yet, pick up this LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Idea Book for a leg up on your neighborhood competition. 

There aren’t many organizations as recognizable as National Geographic so it’s reasonable to expect that this Earth Science Kit is of decent quality. And indeed it is with over 15 experiments to conduct with your kids such as dueling water tornadoes, building an erupting volcano, growing crystals, dig for geologic samples, and more. For those of you with more than one child that wants to get in on this action, this science lab allows for more than one experiment to happen at a time so multiple siblings, friends, or classmates can join. 

Included is a detailed learning guide that helps you teach your kids what’s going on during the experiments along with a selection of earth samples, tools, and instruments. Sure, making a volcano erupt is fun but learning why it’s doing so is even more so. While this Earth Science Kit is promoted for younger kids, make no mistake: the subjects covered with this science kit are more than applicable for middle and even high school students.

Note: the plaster sets up quickly for one of the experiments, more quickly than the instructions let on. Be ready and work fast!

Research shows that girls unfortunately lose interest and confidence in science between the fourth and eighth grades. Yellow Scope, a science kit company located in Portland, Oregon, wants to change this through their innovative kits like this DNA & Traits Science Kit. By getting girls interested in science early when their confidence is highest, their approach is unique by taking research about how girls learn best and apply that knowledge to the kit design.

The DNA & Traits Science Kit was created with creativity in mind since girls primarily learn better when the process is open-ended. Materials include science-related drawing pages and art supplies for kids to doodle and record their results. The design of their own experiments is encouraged so there is plenty of materials for girls to do so if they wish. Creativity and science ability aren’t mutually exclusive; in fact, creativity actually helps different approaches to problems that need to be solved.

This particular kit takes kids on a deep dive into the science of genetics. There are plenty of high-quality equipment and supplies along with a 32-page lab notebook that outlines loads of DNA activities and experiments. Learn how to isolate strands of DNA from strawberries, isolate DNA from cheek cells, and find out about why kids have certain traits that others don’t. 

This science kit is one that takes science seriously but keeps it engaging and creative. While Yellow Scope markets their kids science kits primarily to girls to encourage STEM participation, the kits are ideal for either gender to use. Yellow Scope’s other kits include a Chemistry Bundle Set and Paper Chromatography. 

Physics was always the toughest science class when I was in school. While I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the various principles involved with how things actually work here on the planet, the concepts presented were tough to grasp without seeing it all in action. The Teenii STEM Electricity & Magnetism Lab goes a long way to provide the basic principles with 50 separate pieces of equipment and a 40-page full-color manual that details how to conduct various experiments step-by-step.

This electronics kit is excellent to enhance physics lessons for high school students and easy enough for middle school kids to explore as well. The manual presents questions before and after the experiments to encourage critical thinking from the students. This isn’t a dry science course by any means; there are 18 chapters in the experiment guide including fun projects such as how to make a battery from a piece of fruit, ringing a bell by using electricity, and constructing a hand-crank generator.

Part of what makes science so challenging for kids is the lack of comprehension of how it affects them directly. It doesn’t have to be abstract and theoretical! The Teenii STEM Electricity & Magnetism Lab is a great way to bring some real-life perspective into your science lessons to make it fun and worthwhile.

Geology sometimes gets a bum rap when it comes to the sciences. Digging around in the dirt may not sound exotic but since our entire planet is made of different types of rock, it’s important to understand how geology works. Plus, who doesn’t love finding some shiny gems? This kids science kit from Discover Kids, the Gemstone Dig, pretty much guarantees that very thing. 

The kit includes a brick of tough rock with eleven real gemstones, including turquoise and Amethyst, hidden within. Excavation tools in the form of a wooden mallet, wooden chisel, and safety glasses are provided for the real work of breaking up the brick. Kids will have a fun time extracting their treasure then using the included magnifying glass and paintbrush to examine and clean up their finds.

There’s also an instructions manual and an illustrated poster describing each gemstone found in the kit. After playing around with the Discovery Kids Gemstone Dig Science Kit, you and your children may find that you’re true rockhounds and didn’t even know it!