The Best Educational Gifts for Your STEM Student 2024
Do you know a 7-year old interested in problem solving? A 10-year old who can’t get enough math puzzles? A middle schooler who loves robotics?
We know it can be difficult to pick a gift that will be equally fun and just the right level of challenge for your smart STEM student. But Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) has you covered. We asked our AoPS and Beast Academy experts — composed of some of the nation’s top mathematicians, instructors, and curriculum developers — what STEM gifts they’d recommend this year.
Here's what they said. These are the very best educational gifts to give to your curious and motivated student. We have split up our guide into three categories: Puzzle, Play, and Build to help you discover the perfect fit.
Happy shopping!
Puzzle
Puzzles are an engaging way for students to practice vital math skills while also developing other key skills in spatial awareness and pattern recognition.
Beast Academy Puzzle Books
Our Review
A perfect break from screen-time, Beast Academy’s Puzzle Books build critical problem solving skills through challenging mathematical puzzles and engaging comic-based storylines.
Puzzle Books levels 1–4 are available, recommended for ages 6-12. Difficulty ranges from straightforward starters to mystifying stumpers written by 2011 World Puzzle Champion, Palmer Mebane.
The Genius Square
Our Review
A STEM board game that promotes problem solving, spatial awareness, and motor manipulation skill training!
This table game includes grids, dice, blockers, and 9 different shapes with different colors to create over 62,000 unique solutions. Easy to travel with and play independently or together.
Kanoodle
Our Review
A game board with over 300 2-D, 3-D, and sliding puzzles to help students build spatial reasoning and critical thinking skills! Easy to learn, easy to transport — with increasing levels of challenge that any problem solver will be excited to take on.
NY Times Games Gift Subscription
Our Review
Access to Spelling Bee, Wordle, over 10,000 crosswords and more, online and in The New York Times Crossword app. Perfect for middle and high school students who love word games.
AoPS Online Gift Certificate
Our Review
AoPS Online books and classes are designed for advanced students ready to get ahead in their STEM journey. A virtual gift certificate lets the top problem solvers in your life determine their next step, whether studying independently through the books or taking a fast-paced class among equally motivated peers.
Play
Table games, board games, and other interactive activities can help students expand their problem solving skills while having fun either independently or by competing with friends and family!
Beast Academy Online
Our Review
Ideal for motivated young problem solvers, Beast Academy is an advanced comic-based math curriculum that models active problem solving through engaging storylines.
Designed by Art of Problem Solving, the global leader in advanced math education, Beast Academy focuses on critical thinking and deep conceptual understanding, rather than drills and memorization.
You can also gift a 1-year subscription to Beast Academy Online directly to a student!
Blokus
Our Review
A strategy game for the whole family! Place as many of your pieces on the board as you can — but they can only touch at the corners, and your opponents will be trying to block your moves!
Fun, easy to play, and provokes interesting conversations between players about the methods behind their moves.
LOGIC! Case Starter Set
Our Review
Puzzles without words help students explore inferential thinking. Guess the correct answer by plugging in the included wooden peg into one of the puzzle case’s bottom four holes. If the card can pull out of the case, then the answer is correct, if not, keep thinking!
Math Games with Bad Drawings
Our Review
Unbox this game to uncover gameboards, markers, playing pieces, and instructions for a collection of 34 math games to be played anywhere, anytime! Both loads of fun and packed with logical thinking, some of these games are even featured in AoPS Academy's summer math camps.
Azul
Our Review
A game of problem solving strategy where the end result is a beautiful mosaic! Azul is a tile-placement game in which players compete for the highest score by claiming tiles and arranging them on their board to score points. Earn bonus points for specific colors or patterns, and don't forget that every tile you take impacts your competitors' choices!
Primes
Our Review
This top-rated math card game was the Winner of the National Museum of Math's 2024 Steven H. Strogatz Prize for Math Communication!
Designed by former AoPS students, players develop their mental math skills with 52 unique cards and over 100 combinations. Grow your love of numbers and contribute to a worthy cause – profits go to scholarships and benefits for students interested in math.
Build
Sometimes, the best way to understand a concept is to build it. Whether using wooden blocks or text-based code, these gifts let curious students explore ideas through hands-on learning.
KiwiCo Labs
Our Review
Build your own toys to grow your problem solving skills! With options available for elementary, middle school, and high school students, KiwiCo Labs has something for everyone to enjoy. If Beast Academy is the math we wish we had as kids, then Tinker Box is the kind of toy we always wanted.
Makeblock mBot2: STEM Education Coding Robot Kit for AI Learning
Our Review
Learn how to program by building a robot that obeys your commands! With AI learning elements, this kit helps students get a practical STEM education.
Each mBot2 comes with paper-based tutorials for zero programming and a wealth of online resources, in addition to lesson plans for ambitious educators. Includes voice control, line following, and rich IoT functions.
LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set
Our Review
Text-based coding made accessible through everyone's favorite set of building blocks. Designed for middle school students and older, the Prime Set is a CODiE award recipient, with over fifty hours of standards-aligned experiences including hands-on learning, coding, and lessons.
HackPack
Our Review
Construct a new robot every other month with this cool subscription box from CrunchLabs! You also get access to a coding console to learn how to play and hack its capabilities. This subscription also includes access to videos to explore skills in coding, electronics, and engineering.
From all of us at AoPS, we wish you a wonderful holiday season!
If you have any questions, contact us at success@artofproblemsolving.com.
