Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is famously the place where big tech companies showcase new TVs, laptops, and smart appliances. But there is so much more CES has to offer! This year, it offered a wide variety of STEM toys that never fail to impress with their cutting-edge technology and creativity. They don’t only entertain children, but also provide educational value by teaching concepts in science, technology, engineering, and maths to help them become the next generation of innovators. Check out our comprehensive roundup of the 2023 CES edutaining STEM-related toys to decide which ones should absolutely make it to your kids’ playroom later this year.
Educational Insights PYXEL – A Coder’s Best Friend
PYXEL by Educational Insights is a robotic pet that enables kids to learn coding while playing with and training an interactive robotic pet to sit, speak, shake, and so much more. It features tricks, emotions, lights, and sounds that can all be coded using beginner or advanced coding languages depending on skill and experience. Right out of the box, PYXEL comes pre-loaded with six interactive codes that offer instantaneous fun and excitement to get coding. From there, kids can build their own sequences of Blockly code by dragging and dropping within the safe, secure, and internet-free user interface (UI) on a Wi-Fi-enabled tablet or computer. PYXEL’s UI includes clear instructions that make for an easy and fully independent activity. Once the child has conquered Blockly, they can level up to writing code with Python, a more advanced language that is used across countless companies and industries.
Age: 8-14
Price: $124.99
Availability in the UK: March 2023
Tonies Sleepy Sheep – Night light
Tonies Sleepy Sheep is designed to help kids learn drawing, alphabet, spelling, counting, math, subject recognition, and more – all of this while having fun. It creates the best visual experience for kids as all of the arts are designed with the style of British painter’s selection of drawing. Available in 10 languages: English, Russian, Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Hungarian, Italian, and Chinese.
Age: 3+
Price: to be confirmed
Availability in the UK: to be confirmed
Hey Disney! Disney Magical Companion – Alexa voice assistant from Amazon & Disney
Hey Disney! Disney Magical Companion is a first-of-its-kind voice assistant from Amazon & Disney that will give customers access to a wide range of Disney magic through Echo devices at home and as a complimentary service at select Disney Resorts hotels. Customers who have purchased and enabled the service can say, “Hey Disney!” — a new wake word Amazon created — to enjoy experiences featuring more than 20 Disney, Pixar, and Star Wars characters. Customers can interact with these fan-favorites—like Mickey Mouse, Dory from Finding Nemo, and Olaf from Frozen—to hear an array of jokes, play trivia, listen to soundscapes, and more. For example, if you ask Hey Disney! for the weather, Olaf from Frozen might tell you it’s cold out. Or if you’re in the mood to cook a nice meal, you can ask Hey Disney! to play the soundscape from Ratatouille.
Age: any
Price: to be announced
Availability in the UK: to be confirmed
Xplora X6 Play – Smartwatch for kids
X6 Play by Xplora is the latest children’s smartwatch. This is an excellent starter smartwatch for children, while also being an excellent safety device for concerned parents out there. It has limited functionality in terms of applications you can link it to, so no social media will be available to your child via the watch, and you can set up safe zones whereby you will receive a notification should your child leave the map boundaires you set on the parental control app. It even has a school mode so your child can’t play with it when they should be learning. A perfect solution to giving your child their first real smartwatch while maintaining your parental peace of mind.
Age: 4-11
Price: to be announced
Availability in the UK: to be confirmed
Verizon’s Gizmo Watch 3 – Smartwatch for kids
Gizmo Watch 3 by Verizon is the latest smartwatch designed for kids. The watch not only allows parents to view their child’s location, but they can also send and receive messages and phone calls, and, new, on version 3 of the Gizmo Watch, video calls are now an option. The gadget doesn’t require the child have a smartphone in order for it to work. It has cellular connectivity built in. Parents can use the companion app on their phone to control who the child can talk to, with a total of 20 trusted contacts now available on the new watch. You can set safe zones that will trigger an alert when your child leaves that area – for example, a school or babysitter. Additionally, the watch promises longer battery life, new watch faces, more games and the ability to connect Bluetooth headphones or earbuds to the watch. It’ll come in two colours, blue clay and mint.
Age: 3-11
Price: $149
Availability in the UK: to be confirmed
myFirst Fone S3 – Smartwatch for kids
myFirst Fone S3 is a smartwatch for kids, it has a 1.4-inch square touchscreen along with 8GB storage, 2MP camera, wireless pairing with headphones, and advanced GPS for tracking location. It’s IPX8-rated for water resistance to 2 metres and can connect via 4G LTE with an eSIM and appropriate plan. There are purposely no apps to avoid kids getting distracted and draining the battery. Using the device, parents and caregivers can contact kids through text, audio, and even video messaging. The myFirst Circle network, meanwhile, ensures a safe calling, location, and social sharing circle with only trusted contacts. With the new myFirst Circle, kids can enjoy group chats, shoutouts as well as photo and emoji sharing.
Roybi RoybiVerse – Metaverse for kids
Roybi RoybiVerse is an intelligent edutainment metaverse. Designed for both educators and learners, it’s an immersive and interactive membership-based platform that is VR-enabled with various virtual educational experiences. Set to launch by mid-2023, the audience is expected to range from K-12 up to higher education learners. The company is working on partnerships to provide knowledge, content, and experience. RoybiVerse consists of multiple planets, spaces, and crafts as digital assets. The collections allow you to build, lend, and earn. From visiting spaces to building, coaching, or learning, RoybiVerse rewards you for every action you take. Roybi Robot will be part of this universe educating little learners. You can sign up here for early access.
Price: to be announce
Availability in the UK: to be confirmed
Particula GoChess – Smart chess board
Particula GoChess is a fully immersive experience designed to help people learn, train, and play chess. The world’s first fully robotic chess board, it’s capable of moving multiple pieces simultaneously. GoChess can magically set up the board for a new game, challenge you with a set of puzzles tailored to your skill level, replay and rewind moves and games, and even allow for immersive play with AI or with a remote online opponent (while GoChess moves the pieces on your local board). If you need to take a break from the game, it’ll remember the current state and allow you to continue from the exact same point when you’re ready to resume. The advanced sensing and lighting on each square allows the board to monitor and record moves and provide real-time indications to players. This ranges from tips to potential moves as well as scores, each of which is colour coded for easy identification. The board works with a companion app and can connect to popular online chess platforms. It is powered by a rechargeable battery and comes in a classic or modern, tech-inspired design. You can sign up here to get notified when they launch on Kickstarter.
Price: to be announced
Availability in the UK: to be confirmed
ONANOFF StoryPhones – Smart headphones for kids
ONANOFF StoryPhones are SafeAudio® smart headphones for kids that play audio content offline, offering the ultimate screen-free entertainment experience. They come with an Internet-connected content player that plays back a series of kid-friendly stories. Pop in a StoryShield disc and the story will automatically download to the headphone memory and begin playing. Once a story has been downloaded, it can be played independent of any network connection or other device. There are tons of stories from Disney, like The Lion King, Mickey Mouse, and Frozen. Perfect for travel, bedtime, or for kids with sensory issues, the StoryPhones are an exciting new entry into the kids’ headphones space.
JLabs JBuddies Protect – Hearing protection for kids
JLabs JBuddies Protect are over-ear hearing protection devices designed for kids to help them avoid overstimulation. They are fully adjustable to fit different kids’ head sizes, ranging from infants to teenagers. Made with cloud foam cushions, they provide optimal noise reduction while also being durable. There’s also a cushioned headband and earcups for added comfort when wearing them for long periods of time. The JBuddies Protect are foldable so they can be easily stuffed in a backpack or bag for travel, and are ANSI certified with an NRR rating of 23dB.
Price: to be announced
Availability in the UK: to be confirmed
