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Do you have a budding builder in your house? How about a science and tech lover? Thames and Kosmos has some great sets for the STEM lover in your house. Kids can not only build something but then they can have endless fun playing with it.

One set perfect for budding robot builders as well as animal lovers is the My Robotic Pet – Tumbling Hedgehog.

My Robotic Pet – Tumbling Hedgehog

Build your own adorable robotic pet hedgehog! With the 172 building pieces in this kit, you can assemble a real robot that looks like a cute hedgehog. The robot has a built-in sound sensor and is programmed to react to different sounds. After you build it, you can play with it by making different sounds and watching it tumble, roll, spin around, bristle its spines, and scurry around. Clap once, and the hedgehog will roll into a ball and tumble backwards. Clap multiple times, and the hedgehog will count your claps and tumble as many times as you instructed with your claps.

You can also get the hedgehog to bristle its spines and act in a playful way with different patterns of claps. The hedgehog’s eyes light up with LEDs. By building the robot, you will gain experience in the inner mechanical workings that enable the robot to move how it does. Learn about gears, motors, sound sensors, LEDs, and the other components of this funny little pet.

Another great kit from Thames & Kosmos is for budding chemists, well not chemistry exactly but science experiments.

Ooze Labs: Soap & Bath Bomb Lab

It’s time to start mixing things up! In this pretend STEM scenario, you are a chemist for a bath and body products company and it’s your job to make and test different cosmetic products. Use the tools in your laboratory to employ different scientific techniques and essential chemistry principles to make soaps and bath bombs. Try out different additives to affect the color, smell, and other qualities of the products you make.

Real science and pretend play come together in this activity-filled kit that can be used alone or as an extension of the Ooze Labs Chemistry Station (a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor winner!). As you mold different glycerin soap shapes, you learn about the chemical properties of soap that help it pick up and wash away dirt. While you’re concocting bath bombs, you learn about how acids and bases combine to form fizzing reactions, and what a pH level is. Expand your cosmetics knowledge with an overview of the biology of skin care and other science related to soap and bath products. All materials and chemicals are non-toxic.

Get your STEM shopping done

Check out the My Robotic Pet – Tumbling Hedgehog and Ooze Labs: Soap & Bath Bomb Lab from Thames & Kosmos. You can also find Thames & Kosmos on Amazon or wherever toys are sold.