This article discusses the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
The best STEM toys for 1-year-olds to teach your child various skills that help enhance their personal development. STEM toys are fantastic for teaching children hand-eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills, problem-solving, cause and effect, recognizing sounds, shape, and colors, and so much more.
The best STEM toys for 1-year-olds take play that is fun, entertaining, and that kids are drawn to and work into that play elements that transform the play from purely entertainment into meaningful play.
There is no STEM toy that completely fulfills every need that every child has. Therefore, it is important to provide your kids the right STEM toys for them and also a variety of types of STEM toys that target different areas for physical and cognitive development.
Take a look below at some of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds for promoting meaningful play.
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Comparison Chart
Vosego Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear | 40 mins Classical Music for Babies | 15″ Award Winning Musical Soft Toy | Educational Toy for Infants Kids Adults
AyeKu Baby Balance Bike for 1 Year Old Toddler Bike for One Year Old Toys 1st First Birthday Gifts Baby Toys 12-24 Months
Gojmzo Busy Board Montessori Toys for Toddlers Sensory Toys Gifts for 1 2 3 4 Year Old Boys & Girls Preschool Toddler Activities Educational Travel Toy Learning Basic Dress Skills
Award Winning Durable Pound A Ball, Stacking, Learning, Active, Early Developmental Montessori Toy, Fun Gift for Toddler & Kids – STEM Developmental Educational Toys – Great Birthday Gift
CENOVE Montessori Toys for 1 2 3 Year Old Boy Girl,STEM Educational Wooden Toys Shape Sorter Puzzle,7 Size Vegetables and Fruits Harvest Wooden Toy Gift for Toddlers
Best STEM Toys for 1-Year-Olds: Reviews
VTech Smart Shots Sports Center
VTech Smart Shots Sports Center makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
VTech Smart Shots Sports Center averages nearly 5 stars on Amazon with over 28,000 reviews.
The VTech Smart Shots Sports Center is designed for kids between ages 1 and 3 and develops hand-eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills, ability to recognize shapes, sounds, and numbers, and other important skills for youngsters.
Review best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
The VTech Smart Shots Sports Center is a miniature multi-sport experience for toddlers for indoor and outdoor fun. Girls and boys can shoot basketballs into a hoop or strike a soccer ball into the goal. It comes with a soccer ball and a basketball.
Kids get excited to score goals and sink baskets because the VTech Smart Shots Sports Center comes with an interactive LED scoreboard that keeps score up to 10 baskets or goals and plays motivating animations, sounds, and phrases. Each time kids score a point, they are rewarded with an encouraging celebration.
Kids celebrate every score, learn to try again if they miss, and develop their understanding of cause and effect. If kids want a break from shooting on the targets, the VTech Smart Shots comes with buttons for pressing, gears for turning, and pages for flipping to encourage kids to actively learn about shapes, numbers, and, sequences.
The VTech Smart Shots Sports Center develops physical skills, like hand-eye coordinate, gross motor skills, fine motors, skills, and footwork. It also develops mental skills, like recognizing shapes, numbers, and sounds, problem-solving skills, cause and effect, and language skills.
Plus, kids can compete with one another on the VTech Smart Shots Sports Center. First to 10 points wins, or whatever rules you want. It is a fun and educational way to introduce competition to young kids.
The VTech Smart Shots Sports Center comes with frustration-free packaging. It is powered by 3 AA batteries, which are not included in the set.
Pros best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Lightweight and portable
- 14 components to build hand-eye coordination
- Develops fine motor skills
- Teaches children about getting dressed
- Durable materials
- Safe for young children
- Reasonable price
Cons best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
Some of the components are a little easy to detach
AyeKu Baby Balance Bike
AyeKu Baby Balance Bike makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
AyeKu Baby Balance Bike averages nearly 5 stars on Amazon with over 1,900 reviews.
The AyeKu Baby Balance Bike is a mini balance bike for training kids to develop balance, coordination, and strength. It is not your typical STEM toy because it does not require building, sorting, or the like.
Nonetheless, we like this toy for STEM development because it targets age-appropriate areas for development. Specifically, toddlers are learning to walk and explore the physical world and this mini bike helps develop the necessary gross motor and cognition for physical exploration.
Review best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
The AyeKu Baby Balance Bike is a mini bicycle designed to help toddlers build the balance, coordination, and strength for walking and running. It comes with an ergonomic seat perfect for young kids that you can adjust up and down, a soft grips on the handlebars, and a comfortable steering radius designed with child safety in mind.
This mini balance bike is different from normal adult bikes because it is super small but also it does not have pedals. Kids use their legs to scoot around smoothly and silently on the soft wheels. It is a very unique toy and is one reason why it makes our best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
The AyeKu Baby Balance Bike is easy to assemble. It takes only 5 minutes to complete the three easy installation steps. The bike also comes with 2 internal hexagonal wrenches.
The AyeKu Baby Balance Bike helps kids develop walking skills like this. Kids sit on or straddle the seat and hold the handles. By moving their feet, the kids move forward and backward and can steer using the handlebars.
With each movement, kids build strength, balance, and coordination needed for walking with the safety of the handlebars, wheels, and rest of the bicycle to help prevent them from falling.
The AyeKu Baby Balance Bike is also a great way for toddlers to bond with their parents as parents help the kids get started with the bike. The bike is sure to keep your kids entertained and busy with independent play for hours, too.
Unlike some other best STEM toys for 1-year-olds, the AyeKu Baby Balance Bike is silent. The wheels are soft can do not damage house floors. The soft wheels are ideal for kitchen floors and carpets. Kids can also ride the bike in gardens and other soft and smooth surfaces. This bike is not suitable to ride on hills, streets, and other tough surfaces.
The AyeKu Baby Balance Bike is durable, made of high quality, and lightweight at just less than 4 pounds.
Pros best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Develops balance, coordination, and strength for walking and running
- Fun to play with and very age appropriate skills targeted
- Easy to install, carry, and store
- Great reviews on Amazon
- Silent and soft wheels
- Safe for young children
- Ergonomically designed for kids
Cons best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
Does not involve building, sorting, stacking, or more traditional STEM constructs for toys
Vosego Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear
Vosego Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
Vosego Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear averages nearly 5 stars on Amazon with over 380 reviews.
The Amadeus Virtuoso Bear is a high-quality plush bear that plays 40 minutes of Mozart’s greatest compositions. The beautiful classical music helps stimulate your child’s mind and may put them in a positive mood, promote learning, and strengthen their memory.
Review best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
Vosego Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds for its high-quality and simple approach to stimulating the minds of young children. It is different than other STEM toys on our list of best STEM toys because it does not involve building with blocks, sorting by colors, or pressing buttons to cause some other kind of motion.
Instead, the Vosego Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear relaxes kids and adults with soothing sounds and soft fur and also stimulates mood, creativity, learning, and memory through classical music.
The Mozart Virtuoso Bear comes with 7 musical tracks that represent Mozart’s most famous works. This amounts to 40 minutes of some of the most influential musical works of all time. Classical music calms kids and adults by releasing dopamine and inhibiting stress hormones.
This is why playing classical music for kids might improve their mood, stimulate their brains for learning and memory, and strengthen relationships with their parents.
You can easily change between music tracks and control the volume. The volume range is safe for newborns and the maximum volume is safe for children below 3 years. You control the tracks and volume by pressing one button on the bear’s belly.
The Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear also comes with a short composer’s biography. Look inside the bear’s inner pocket for that. The biography tells a brief story of Mozart and includes the titles of each composition included with the Vosego Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear.
Vosego Amadeus Mozart Virtuoso Bear is a clever idea for a STEM toy because 1-year-olds generally are fairly limited with their physical and mental capabilities. Listening to music and interacting with a plush bear, however, is something almost every 1-year-old can do and also benefit from.
The Mozart classics that the bear plays include piano concertos and symphonies. Not only do the sounds relax young kids and promote positive moods, the music also soothes parents. Plus, the music can encourage and inspire kids to play, study, and listen to music for the long term.
Pros best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Simple and clever way to introduce 1-year-olds to music
- Promotes dopamine production to enhance mood and reduce stress
- High-quality materials
- Great reviews on Amazon
- Benefits parents too with relaxing sounds
- Safe for young children
Cons best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
Does not develop motor skills or involve much physical
Gojmzo Busy Board Montessori Toy
The Gojmzo Busy Board Montessori Toy makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
This STEM toy is ideal for children between 1 and 3. It has several functions designed for hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and more.
Review best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
The Gojmzo Busy Board Montessori Toy is a highly interactive toy is designed to teach young children fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It provides your child with several parts that can be moved and manipulated in various ways.
Gojmzo Busy Board Montessori Toy gives your child parts like shoelaces, buttons, zippers, buckles, and more. It features 14 separate components your child can manipulate. This should get their hands moving and develop fine motor skills. On a side note, it helps teach your child basic clothes dressing skills.
The Gojmzo Busy Board Montessori Toy is made of safe and durable materials. It’s tough enough to withstand all of the punishment that a one-year-old could possibly throw its way. Moreover, all components are large enough so they won’t pose a choking hazard. It’s a safe toy for young children.
In addition, it comes in a convenient carrying case making it an easily portable toy that is ideal for being on the go; the case keeps all components in one easy-to-find and organized place.
Furthermore, the Gojmzo Busy Board Montessori Toy is lightweight for a young child to carry by themselves. It weighs under half a pound. It may look like a straightforward toy, but it’s a great one to consider since it can help develop fine motor skills and manual dexterity.
Overall, the Gojmzo Busy Board Montessori Toy is one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds. It helps teach them essential skills at an early age. The toy is durable, safe, and easy to transport. It has many functions that will keep your child entertained for hours on end. We highly recommend it as one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
Pros best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Lightweight and portable
- 14 components to build hand-eye coordination
- Develops fine motor skills
- Teaches children about getting dressed
- Durable materials
- Safe for young children
- Reasonable price
Cons best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
Some of the components are a little easy to detach
Playkidz Pound a Ball Montessori Toy
The Playkids Pound a Ball Montessori Toy makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
The Playkids Pound a Ball Montessori Toy is a STEM toy more concerned with manual dexterity than the previous one.
However, this toy teaches children various building skills as well. Moreover, the Playkids Pound a Ball Montessori Toy is more of a traditional toy than other STEM toys. It’s also about fun, not just teaching hand-eye coordination skills.
Review best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
The Playkids Pound a Ball Montessori Toy is one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
The Playkids Pound a Ball Montessori Toy is all about hammering balls of various colors through holes located on top of a frame. There are several ramps or shoots below where the balls roll down.
On top, there are four different balls, each with a different color. A hammer is used to pound the balls through the holes. The balls then roll down, back and forth between the shoots, until they get to the bottom.
For one, this can help teach kids about the various colors. It comes with green, red, yellow, and blue balls and shoots of corresponding colors. It’s a visually educational toy in this sense. Moreover, it’s also very bright, colorful, and visually appealing for children who might otherwise get bored.
Your child will develop manual dexterity while using the hammer to pound the balls through the holes. At the same time, hitting a ball with a hammer to force it through a hole will build hand-eye coordination.
One thing that stands out about the Playkidz Pound a Ball Montessori Toy is that it is very durable. It’s something that can easily fall over and take some big hits without coming apart. It might be plastic, but it’s tough enough to take a good bit of punishment.
The Playkidz Pound a Ball Montessori Toy is very lightweight, and your child should be able to easily carry it around. In addition, it’s small enough to fit in most bags and can be stored easily in small spaces.
Of course, the Playkidz Pound a Ball Montessori Toy is designed to be very safe. There is no sharp edge on any component, and everything has been sanded down.
Furthermore, none of the components are small enough to swallow – a safety feature as far as small children are concerned. As a result, this product exceeds all safety standards for toys for children of this age.
Overall, the Playkidz Pound a Ball Montessori Toy is one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds. It’s great for visual, manual, and coordination development in children. It’s also safe, tough, and easy to store.
Pros best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Durable build
- Perfectly safe
- Teaches colors
- Good for hand-eye coordination and motor skills
- Affordable price
- Lightweight and durable
Cons best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
The balls can get lost
TOYVENTIVE Wooden Kids Baby Activity Cube
The Toyventive Wooden Kids Baby activity cube makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
If you want a highly educational toy that comes with many functions and features, this one deserves closer consideration. This toy has it all – from matching shapes and pictures to counting and numbers, telling time, and more.
However, we honestly aren’t sure why it’s called a cube. It’s a hexagon – two additional sides mean room for additional educational features.
Review best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
This is the perfect educational toy for very young children and is one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds. One thing that stands out is that it comes with seven toys in one. On the top portion, your child gets a wooden bead maze that teaches your children about shapes, animals, and more. It is ideal for improving your child’s manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination skills.
The colorful 12-hour clock features moving hands that your child can turn back and forth. This will help teach your child about numbers, telling the time, and colors. This toy also has a fully functional abacus to help your child learn how to count.
This toy also comes with several spinning gears, ideal for improving manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination. In addition, there’s a tic-tac-toe board with sliders – another thing to help improve various skills. Your child also gets a shape sorter that will help them learn about both shapes and colors.
Also, there’s a small tile-matching memory game. This might just be the most feature-rich educational toy for young children.
This is a visually appealing toy with many components and colors that should keep your child’s attention. Moreover, it should withstand any kind of punishment that a one-year-old can throw its way.
Importantly, none of the components are small enough to swallow, and most are securely attached to the unit. There are no sharp corners, making it perfectly safe for your children to play with, even by themselves.
On a side note, the bead maze is detachable from the rest of the unit for easier portability. And, although it’s not the smallest toy, it is very lightweight. So your child should be able to manipulate it on their own.
Overall, this is one of the best educational toys for one-year-olds, if not the best. It has everything your child needs to start learning essential skills.
Pros best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Tons of features
- Many educational aspects
- Great for hand-eye coordination, motor skills, and manual dexterity
- Very safe for kids
- Durable enough to last for some time
- Reasonable price
Cons best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
The pieces of the shape-matching puzzle can be lost
Cenove Wooden Shape Sorter STEM Toy
The Cenove Wooden Shape Sorter makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
This educational STEM toy is ideal for children 1-3 years old. It’s a straightforward shape-sorting game, although it can be pretty fun. Notably, this is one of the most affordable STEM toys on our list.
Review best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
This is a straightforward yet effective shape-sorting game and is one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds. Instead of basic shapes like squares and triangles, these shapes are in the form of various fruits. Therefore, not only will your child learn about different shapes, but also about fruits and vegetables.
Each of the fruits and vegetables is a slightly different size and shape. This means that your child must determine which fruit or vegetable goes in which corresponding hole on the board. It can teach your child all about fruits and vegetables, the sizes of various objects, as well as shapes.
This toy has all sorts of bright and engaging colors, which should keep your child’s attention for a long time. In addition, all components can easily be manipulated by your child.
In addition, this educational toy is made of natural pinewood and contains no toxic chemicals. Moreover, all of the edges are completely smooth. On that same note, none of the components are small enough to fit in a mouth and swallow.
The toy is also relatively small and lightweight. It’s also a convenient toy to take with you to keep your child busy when you aren’t at home. It’s small enough to be considered portable. If you aren’t satisfied with this STEM toy, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Overall, this is one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds and is an affordable STEM toy for children 1-3 years old. It helps teach about shapes, fruits, and vegetables. The toy is also made of natural materials and is portable.
Pros best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Simple but effective
- Teaches shapes, sizes, fruits, and vegetables
- Ideal for learning motor and matching skills
- Colorful and engaging
- Durable
- 100% child safe
- Money-back guarantee
Cons best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Much smaller than pictures
- Pieces can be easily lost
Tsomtto Baby Sensory Bin Shape Sorter Toy
The Tsomtto Baby Sensory Bin Shape Sorter makes our list of best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
This is a shape-sorter toy designed for children between 12 and 18 months. Moreover, it is specifically designed for autistic children who have trouble developing motor skills and logical thinking.
Review best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
This is a large cube with a solid plastic frame with many different elastic bands spanning the sides and is one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds. These elastic bands have gaps between them, with various shapes that these gaps form. In addition, there are six different plastic shapes and a variety of other blocks.
Your child must then figure out which blocks fit through which sides of the cube. It’s a relatively simple toy, although it does help to teach manual dexterity, problem-solving, and more. Next, your child has to figure out which shapes belong in which holes. The balls and blocks are also various colors.
Not only will your child learn problem-solving and about shapes, but also about different colors. What is also worth noting is that each of the blocks and balls features a slightly different texture to teach your child manual dexterity.
The plastic frame and the elastic bands are all extremely durable; they will handle much punishment and tugging on. Moreover, everything is designed to be highly safe. The elastic bands won’t snap, and they can’t be detached from the unit. In addition, the plastic frame has no sharp corners.
You might also like that this toy is pretty portable, as it is small enough to take with you on the go. This means that it is small enough for your child to handle easily.
Overall, this is an excellent choice for a STEM toy for toddlers and is one of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds. It is simple enough for them to understand, while also being packed with features that will help them to develop essential skills.
Pros best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- Great for learning shapes and colors
- Teaches problem-solving and motor skills
- Balls and blocks of various shapes, colors, and textures
- Child safe
- Quite durable
- Fairly portable
- Reasonable price
Cons best STEM toys for 1-year-olds
- The elastic bands may wear out eventually
- Losing some of the blocks is bound to happen
Best STEM Toys For 1-Year-Olds Buyer’s Guide
Let’s go over some of the most important aspects to keep in mind when looking for the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
Safety
First and foremost, the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds need to be safe for your child. This means they should have no sharp corners or loose pieces large enough to be eaten. In addition, everything should be made of non-toxic materials.
Durability
You want the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds to be made of solid and durable materials. Kids can get rough, especially young children. So you need something that can be dropped and hit without risk of breaking into pieces.
Weight and Size
One-year-old kids aren’t very strong, so the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds should be relatively small and lightweight. Remember that your child needs to be able to easily manipulate all components. Something too large or heavy is not a best STEM toys for 1-year-olds.
Type of Learning
STEM toys are designed to teach various skills. Some are designed to develop fine motor skills, some for hand-eye coordination, some for building skills, some for learning shapes, colors, numbers, and more. First, you have to decide what kind of educational toy you want for your child.
Colors
Although this may sound like an odd point to mention, the toy should be very colorful. Studies show that bright colors are engaging for children. They help to hold their attention, which is essential for learning.
Price
You can find the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds at a variety of price points. However, you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money to get a good quality toy. In fact, some of the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds are quite affordable. Just remember that the price isn’t everything.
Best STEM Toys for 1-Year-Olds FAQ
What is STEM?
STEM technically stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This type of education provides children with an early advantage in life. The best STEM toys for 1-year-olds target the type of STEM learning appropriate for that age.
What are the Benefits of STEM Education?
STEM education teaches your children fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, knowledge application, and more. It’s about teaching your children how to be ingenious and creative on their own.
Are STEM Toys Good For Autism?
Children with autism have difficulty learning various skills, precisely where these best STEM toys for 1-year-olds shine. However, these toys can teach autistic children skills they likely otherwise couldn’t learn.
What are the Best STEM Toys for 1-Year-Olds?
There is no definitive answer to this question as each child is unique and will respond differently to different toys. However, some of the best STEM toys for one-year-olds include building blocks, shape sorters, pull-along toys, and activity mats.
Can I buy any Best STEM Toys for 1-Year-Olds?
Not necessarily. It is important to choose a toy that is appropriate for your child’s age and development level. Consult the buyer’s guide above for specific tips on what to look for.
Are STEM toys good for my one-year-old?
Yes, STEM toys can be beneficial for one-year-olds as they help to develop important skills such as fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving abilities.
What if my one-year-old doesn’t like the STEM toy I bought?
If your child does not seem interested in the STEM toy, it is probably not the right toy for them. Consider returning it and choosing a different one. Every child is different, so it may take some trial and error to find the perfect STEM toy for your little one.
Conclusion
If you are looking for the best STEM toys for 1-year-olds with the most educational features, it’s the VTech Smart Shots Sports Center and the TOYVENTIVE Wooden Kids Baby Activity Cube. That said, all of the toys we have reviewed will provide your one-year-old with a variety of educational benefits.
The VTech Smart Shots Sports Center is a unique STEM toy because it cleverly designs ways to use physical activities to develop mental skills. The TOYVENTIVE Wooden Kids Baby Activity Cube is great because of its variety of STEM activities that spur creativity and critical thinking, like matching shapes to numbers, connecting pictures and counting, telling time, and more.
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