Toy Insider’s Chief Toy Officer Laurie Schacht joined PIX 11 in New York to show off selections from the Toy Insider’s STEM 10 hot toys list. For more on the items featured in this segment, check out the product notes below, and for the complete rundown of the best gifts of the holiday season, check out our complete Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide.
MAGIC ADVENTURES TELESCOPE
Kids can look through the digital telescope at up to 110-times magnification to explore the world around them, check out more than 100 NASA videos and images, and play games on the 2.4-inch screen. 5+
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VIRTUAL REALITY ANIMALS
This gift set comes with everything a little zoologist could need to discover new creatures, including a 96-page book featuring a variety of animals, interactive goggles that activate more than 40 virtual reality (VR) experiences, and a set of scratch art tools.
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SNAP FM RADIO
With this entry-level Snap Circuits kit, kids can participate in four hands-on projects to build a working FM radio. The project will teach kids about the science of radio waves, amplifiers, circuits, and electricity.
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PYXEL A CODER’S BEST FRIEND
Kids can use a tablet to code Pyxel to perform tricks, make sounds, and more. Pyxel and its companion app will help kids learn the basics of two coding languages: Blockly and Python.
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SMITHSONIAN PLANETARIUM PROJECTOR
When kids aim the projector at a light-colored wall or ceiling, it will project a rotating star pattern of the northern sky. The set includes three disks with 24 space images that kids can project alongside the stars.
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HYDRAULIC BOXING BOTS
Kids can build two boxing robots that use hydraulic power to move with complex shoulder gestures, jabs, and uppercuts. The fighter who knocks back the opposing robot's head scores a point on the included scoreboard.
