Looking for some new toys that are as fun as they are educational? Toy Insider’s Chief Toy Officer Laurie Schacht stopped by CTV’s Your Morning to show off some great new toys that are so fun, kids won’t even realize they’re learning. For more on the items featured in this segment, check out the product notes below.
GEARS! GEARS! GEARS! WRECKER GEARS (LEARNING RESOURCES)
- Develop early engineering and other essential STEM skills with this
- building set inspired by the world of construction.
- Kids can build their own bulldozers, wrecking balls, and more, or use their engineering skills to come up with their own designs!
- Age: 4+
- MSRP: CAD $54.59
- Available: Amazon.ca
AMAZING RESCUE 50-PIECE SET (MAGFORMERS)
- Click and create your own adventure with Magformers AMAZING Rescue 50-piece set!
- Design and create your own fire adventure.
- Build a fire station and fire truck, add wheels and fire accessories.
- This 50 piece set comes with 24 magnetic pieces, 2 characters, emergency vehicle accessories and so much more to keep the city safe.
- Age: 3+
- MSRP: CAD $59.99 (43-Piece sets in Costco)
- Available: Toys “R” Us, Mastermind, Select Specialty, Amazon, Walmart
GUMBALL MACHINE MAKER (THAMES & KOSMOS)
- Super sweet stunts! Build your own gumball machines and learn physics lessons in the process. A turn of a handle dispenses one gumball at a time out of the clear storage globe and down the track.
- The gumballs land in a collection cup and can easily and sanitarily be returned to the globe for another run. The track segments can be moved around on the base to create an almost limitless number of different gumball machines.
- As the gumballs roll down the track, they perform cool stunts and tricks. Stunts include a pulley lift, pendulum, funnel, trampoline, variable-slope ramp, pinball launcher, and domino slide.
- Each segment of the track teaches a different lesson in mechanical physics, allowing users to explore topics including simple machines, force, motion, momentum, gravity, Newton’s laws, energy transfer, and more.
- Trial-and-error experiments teach in a fun, hands-on way: Will your gumball successfully make it to the end of the track, or will you have to reengineer your gumball machine to make it work?
- The kit works with standard machine-size, 16-mm (5/8-inch) gumballs and includes a small supply of gumballs to get started.
- Age: 6+
- MSRP: CAD $56.00
- Available: Toys “R” Us, Indigo, Mastermind, specialty retailers
SMITHSONIAN ROBO SPIDER (NSI INTERNATIONAL)
- Kids can build their own motorized robot spider with eight multi-jointed legs that duplicate the walking movements of real spiders.
- This engaging introduction to robots and gears allows kids to study the way spiders actually crawl.
- They can assemble the gears and wire the terminals, then attach the legs and pop in batteries to make their Robo Spider move.
- Kids can experiment with different length legs to see how they change their robot’s stride.
- They can cut and fit rubber tubing to the legs and watch their spider climb gentle slopes.
- This kit includes a 23” x 17” color poster that teaches fun facts about spider anatomy, habitat and more!
- Age: 8+
- MSRP: $19.99
- Available: Toys “R” Us
- Beautifully crafted & thoughtfully designed, Inchimals are 12 wooden blocks measuring 1” (the tiny ladybug) to 12” high (the towering giraffe).
- It’s an ideal measurement learning device for kids of all ages!
- Age: 3+
- MSRP: $34.95
- Available: fatbraintoys.com
SPIROGRAPH CRAFT ACTIVITY SET (KAHOOTZ)
- Create one-of-a-kind Spirograph-inspired crafts and decorations with this amazing punch-out paper kit.
- Beautiful designs are easy to make with NO glue and NO mess!
- Make over 30 amazing no-mess paper crafts with Spirograph printed papers, punch-outs, stickers, and more in this creative kit!
- With over 450 pieces to work with, it’s easy to create intricately beautiful crafts with the classic Spirograph look.
- Age: 6+
- MSRP: CAD $26.71
- Available: Specialty retailers, Amazon
ARTIE 3000 (EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS)
- Say hello to Artie!
- This coding/drawing robot puts kids in control.
- The easy-to-use drag and drop programming can be used on a Mac, PC or tablet.
- As kids tell Artie what to draw next, they learn left-brain skills like basic programming, geometry, and math, while engaging the right side of their brains to create cool, colorful designs.
- The WiFi-enabled drawing robot comes with 4 modes of play: pre-programmed shapes, games, art for coloring, and freeform coding.
- It also comes with quick-start, FAQ instruction cards, 3 project cards, a built-in programming interface, and 4 washable colored markers.
- Age: 7+
- MSRP: CAD $97.99
- Available: Amazon.ca
CRAYOLA GLITTER DOTS KEYCHAINS (CRAYOLA)
- With Crayola Glitter Dots, kids can create with glitter in a whole new way, without all the mess!
- Just squish each dot to create glitter-infused outputs.
- Each dot contains a special coating so the glitter stays in the dot and not on your hands!
- Glitter dots are easy to use and versatile for any type of craft or project – they can be used on a variety of surfaces including paper, wood, craft foam, felt and more.
- Glitter Dots Single Packs contains 42 dots each and comes in three different color palettes
- Glitter Dots Activity Kits focuses on one activity using Glitter Dots; activities include creating keychains, stickers, mosaics, and sparkly signs. Kits include 42 Glitter Dots.
- Age: 5+
- MSRP: CAD $5.99-$19.99
- Available: crayola.com, mass retailers
