15 cool and unique tech gifts for kids that are also educational

This kit is one of my son's all time favorite toys, and keep in mind he is only five. Kids a couple years older will love the building, programming, and play all the more because they will be able to do it all independently. From a piano that can play all sorts of sounds using a range finding sensor (keys break the beam it projects) to a working remote control robot (complete with a camera) to a truly unlimited number of original projects your kid devises himself, the opportunities for fun and for learning about engineering, robotics, circuitry, and programming are pretty much endless with a Makeblock Neuron Explorer Kit. Which is good, because it ain't cheap.

The GeoSmart Flip Bot is part building toy, part functional little vehicle. And playing with it involves zero screen time. Kids assemble the robotic rover using magnetic components, so there are no tools involved. The building is half the fun (and not too challenging, either), while the remote control driving of colorful bot is the rest of it. Rated as suitable for kids over the age of five, the GeoSmart Flip Bot will be fun and not too challenging for kids up to age 10.

The Osmo Genius Kit converts an iPad (which is required here, FYI) into a multi-game play system using both on screen graphics and physical objects together. From puzzles kids assemble by hand using prompts from the Osmo app to word and number games to an interactive drawing program that's fun but also helps a young artist improve her work, this kit goes well beyond the level of engagement you'll find with most app-integrated todays. It can also be programmed to be suitable for kids as young as five and as old as twelve.

There are a lot of programmable, app controlled robots out there these days. If you're only going to get your kid one such toy (and by the way, only get your kid one such toy!), then Anki's Cozmo is a strong contender for the best choice. This plucky little bot is cute, capable, and lots of fun, and perhaps best of all it's pretty easy to figure out how to play with it. As your kid gets more and more comfortable writing programs to control Cozmo, she'll have it doing everything from playing games to navigating mazes. But the bot is fun right out of the box even when merely being remotely controlled to roam about the room.

Rated for kids age seven and up, I'd say you're probably safe to give this kit to a six year old or a technologically advanced (so to speak) five year old. The mPie kit is a great educational toy because the challenge level increases gradually, with each project starting off with basic steps leading to more complex tasks, and with subsequent projects adding in ever more challenges to be worked through. Kids will physically build then program and control everything from a working mini catapult to a robotic fly swatter, in the process learning about design, electronics, robotics, and coding.

With the components in this kit, your child can build a working computer. Granted, it's a basic one, but an honest to goodness functioning computer, not just some gizmo with lights that flash and sounds that play at the push of a button. And once built, they can use their DIY computer to play a Raspberry Pi edition game of Minecraft, during which they will be given prompts and clues as to how to add additional hardware to the physical computer, thereby enhancing its capabilities. Pretty meta, right? You build a computer that then tells you how to keep building itself.

Snap Circuits are some of the best screen free tech toys I've ever used, and while many of the projects included in the kit's booklet are challenging, most are more than manageable for kids playing without the help of adults. But the coolest thing about a Snap Circuits play session is when your kid puts the instructions aside and makes an original project that actually works. Whether lighting up an LED bulb, playing a tone, or launching a propeller, kids will enjoy the process of assembling each project and will be filled with pride when their work pays off in a working mechanism.

The budding electrical engineer in your family will love playing with this kit from Tinkering Labs. Its components can be used to create a working vehicle, a robot with moving arms, a spinning drawing machine, and any number of other mechanical creations. Best of all, the kit was designed for open ended alteration and upgrades; kids should be encouraged to use the motors, gears, and other components from this kit along with their LEGOs, toy cars, and all sorts of other hardware.

Let me be very clear here: the LEGO Creator Robo Explorer is NOT a robot. It has eyes that light up using battery power, but that's the extent of its functioning. The beauty of this LEGO toy is that after the hands-on task of assembling it is complete, it needs a bit of good old imagination to play with. LEGOs have always been great toys for challenging kids' building skills, so I say it's a good idea to go with the classics from time to time and leave the apps and screens and all out of it.

Does your kid have a bin of LEGOs that just aren't a draw anymore? Well good news, Sarah Dees wrote the book on breathing new life into old LEGOs. In fact, she has written several such books that feature step-by-step instructions for creating robots, vehicles, creatures, and more using LEGOs your kids almost surely already have. Her book "Genius LEGO Inventions with Bricks You Already Have" features more than 40 fun projects younger builders will love, no new purchases required. Other than the book, I mean.

Did you know that play dough can conduct electricity? Well it can, if made properly. And it's pretty easy to make electrically conductive dough when you follow the recipe included in this kit. That should be the only part of the process where a parent is needed, as once the dough is made, kids can use the lights, switches, and buzzers included in the Electro Dough kit from Tech Will Save Us to make all sorts of wacky, colorful, bright, and noisy projects.

Hand Operated Drones for Kids, $44.99, from Amazon

Flying toys are great fun, but most are hard to steer without a lot of practice and without pretty advanced hand-eye coordination to boot. Also, when flown inside they're also basically guaranteed to cause damage. The Force1 Scoot Hand Operated Drone takes care of both of those issues. A kid can control Scoot simply by moving his hands closer to the flying machine, gesturing for it to move away, fly higher or lower, or hover. And arguably better than the ease of control, Scoot's propellers are all housed in a cage that prevents inured fingers and minimizes the chance for property destruction.

There are two things I love the most about the BRIO Smart Tech toys. First, they are fully compatible with all other BRIO train sets, from the tracks to the trains to all the accessories. Second, they're not all that smart, really. Using a series of gates with built-in chips, your little engineer (get it?) can design a track that the semi smart locomotive can be programmed to navigate in a various patterns while flashing its lights and sounding the horn at established points. Kids will easily master the use of the kit and will then enjoy hours of open-ended play, especially if they have a toy box filled with train tracks already.

Quite an age we live in really, when there's a 3D pen for kids. Quite an awesome age. The Nulaxy 3D pen is rated safe for kids as young as five years old, but kids a bit older than that will be able to truly get the hang of this charming little extrusion device. Its "face" uses a color-coded eyes to tell the user when it's heating and when it's ready to start printing colorful streams of quick drying PLA or ABS filament, which your child can use to write three dimensional words, to create patterns and shapes, or, with practice, to create recognizable 3D objects.

Playing house just got smart. Like STEAM-level smart. The Archi-Tech Electronic Smart House from SmartLab involves everything from physical building and wiring to active play using lights, gears, motion sensors, speakers, and more. Kids will learn the basics of architecture and electrical circuitry, and of course they will also simply enjoy playing with a model house just like they have for generations.