Manipulatives

4 years & up. In this jungle-themed set, monkeys fly through the palm trees by their tails, then spin, twist and turn. Colorful set features plastic gears, crank, connectors and base plates for endless building possibilities. Kids develop their own "gears jungle" or use the easy-to-follow instructions. Includes 136 pieces.

3 years & up. Prepare for some marble speed racing with this Do-It-Yourself block set! This Marble Run Race Track is made of wood and includes everything you need to create a one-of-a-kind marble track! Track includes a jump, bell-bucket, spiral funnel and a sliding track for your 20 marbles to get through. Build the towers and tracks, then send your marbles rolling down through all the trick, twists and surprises! Includes 81 pcs.

3 years & up. This unique building set adds a new dimension to tube construction -- wheels! Children can build endless tube designs and add wheels to make them move. Easy-fit construction, this set includes 26 straight tubes, 26 shaped tubes, 6 tubes, 6 cross tubes, 8 wheels in assorted vibrant colors for a total of 72 pieces. This set also comes in a durable stackable plastic container.

4 years & up. Build towers of quirky robots, spinning gears, and wobbling cranes with this Robot Factory set by Learning Resources. Stack robots on top of each other and place them on spinning gears or hang them from wobbling cranes and springs. Each unique robot and building piece can be attached to another in several different ways and from several different angles so that the only limit on engineering is your imagination. Promotes STEM learning. Size: Robots measure 2.25"H. Includes: 79 Mix-and-match pieces: Robots, gears, springs, cranes and stickers, Instructions.

5 years & up. Create your own unique marble run with zany-patterned, magnetic foam pieces! This Tumble Trax™ Magnetic Marble Run by Learning Resources will help hone your critical thinking skills and stretch your imagination as you figure out how to line up the pieces in a way that keeps your marbles moving smoothly down to the bottom of your run. Can you make the marble speed up, slow down, stop, or change direction by rearranging the pieces? Follow the activity cards to guide you as you create or make up your own designs and see what happens! Longest foam piece measures 10"L x 2"H. Includes: 14 Magnetic foam pieces, 4 Marbles, and 10 Activity Cards.

18 months & up. Introduce young builders to curved construction with the 30-piece Grippies® Curves magnetic building set. Inspired by organic shapes found in nature, the colorful curved rods connect to over-molded metal balls using secure magnetic ends. Friendly faces on the ball connectors invite children to create expressive characters and imaginative stories as they build patterns and three-dimensional structures. Soft-touch, tactile pieces are comfortable for small hands to grasp and manipulate, supporting fine motor development, spatial reasoning, creativity, and early STEM discovery. The set is compatible with other Grippies® collections.

3 years & up. These counters turn sorting and counting activities into exciting adventures. Soft rubber counters in 6 colors packed into a reusable plastic tub. Suggested activities also included. Fish measure approximately 2.5". Set of 60.

3 years & up. Children can experience Eastern-inspired architecture, indoors and outdoors, building with the Notch Blocks Eastern set. Solid plastic, neutral-colored blocks feature notched parts that easily connect for strong, detailed builds. Using included ladders and bridge pieces, children can build different structures with varying elevated platforms and span natural elements. Set includes 87 pieces and 10 double-sided build cards.

3 years & up. Children can begin early exploration of physics, STEM lessons, and architectural design using the Unit Block Marble Run 40 piece set. Rubberwood blocks feature drops, bumps and routed paths that allow for multiple building opportunities. Ten double-sided concept cards provide building inspiration for different block arrangements as well as corresponding lessons related to physics theories. Set includes 4 starter acrylic marbles and 36 block pieces scaled to unit block proportions allowing for multiple run path possibilities. Largest piece measures 5.51"L x 2.76"W x 2.76"D.

3 years & up. With over 100 manipulatives, take AR sand play to the next level! Let children's imaginations run wild as they dig for dinosaur bones, roam the Serengeti, or manipulate the North American landscape. Explore underwater worlds while sifting through sand for seashells and other treasures! Each set includes 5 aluminum sand sifters, 11 dinosaur skulls, 12 dinosaur bones, 11 vinyl dinosaurs, 48 real seashells, 11 vinyl sea animals, 6 vinyl African animals, 13 vinyl North American animals, and 3 aluminum scoops. The Exploration Kit comes in a 32-quart container to allow for easy pick up.

4 years & up. Straws and Connectors are ideal in helping children develop Science, Technology, Engineering®, and Math (STEM) skills. It allows children to enhance hand-eye coordination, motor skills, logic, and problem-solving skills all while playing. Build a fort, rocket, boat, tower, tunnel, or bridge! Design your own scientific model, or create something unique. The opportunities are endless! The straws fit snugly on the connectors and are flexible so you can build arches and tubes. This set includes 230 pieces (130 straws and 100 connectors).

4 years & up. These colorful plastic stacking sticks can create endless building experiences. The unique snap and lock feature will hold pieces in place to make stacking and transporting easy. Encourage children to use their imagination to build unique structures or replicate buildings they see locally. Each piece is color-coded making it easy to build along with the suggested designs. This set promotes fine motor skills. Includes various lengths of sticks, building base, and 2 sizes of wheels. The set has 211 pieces.

3 years & up. These colorful counters turn sorting and counting activities into exciting adventures. With these textured Backyard Bug Counters, children develop fine motor skills, sensory learning, color recognition, and important early math skills. Use these counters in a lesson about addition and subtraction to give children a visual of the concepts they are learning. The counters are made of soft rubber and come in 6 colors packed into a reusable plastic tub. Suggested activities also included. Set of 72.

3 years & up. Children can experience Western-inspired architecture, indoors and outdoors, using the Notch Blocks Western set. Plastic, neutral-colored blocks feature notched parts that easily connect for strong, detailed builds. Using included ladders and bridge pieces, children can build different structures with varying elevated platforms and span natural elements. Set includes 85 pieces and 10 double-sided build cards.

2 years & up. Encourage children to explore their creativity as they build and discover basic engineering skills. My First Polydron Gears Set is ideal for introducing younger children to the concept of STEM, using gears. Assemble structures using squares and add gears by simply pushing them into place. Once connected, turn one gear and see the rest of them rotate! Not only do the gears mesh together on a flat surface, but also at an angle of 90 degrees. Features 36 durable, lightweight plastic pieces suitable for indoor and outdoor use. Includes: 5 squares with large hole, 13 squares with 4 small holes, 18 gears and 5 work cards with building ideas for inspiration.

8 years & up. Experience the power of gravity with the Gravitrax Starter Set! Build your own action-packed track system to send your marbles racing while learning about gravity, magnetism, and kinetics. With over 100 pieces and 18 different construction elements, discover how the laws of physics affect the track your marble takes with curves, crosses, freefalls, and even a cannon. Experiment using different heights and angles to control the speed of the ball. Build your track using the construction plans and tasks or let your creativity take control and design a one-of-a kind track. Use the free Gravitrax App to design tracks with the building editor and race using different balls and camera perspectives. Test your system and use the blueprints to build the actual system. The app is available for Apple and Android.

4 years & up. Develop social emotional and STEM skills in a collaborative, play-based environment with the IO Blocks® Center. This all-in-one table brings movement, simple machines and dramatic play to the original IO Blocks® friction-fit, construction toy platform. Combine gears, slides, IO people and standard IO Blocks® pieces to create limitless builds using problem solving, introductory architecture and budding STEM skills. Constructions are stabilized on the raised grid tabletop while the sturdy birch plywood table features handy storage below to hold IO Blocks® and additional parts. Includes: 1 birch plywood play table, 4 storage bins and 458 building pieces. Easy assembly - simply affix the enclosed table legs to the IO Blocks® tabletop. Measures 31"W x 23"H x 22"D.

18 months & up. Build early stacking, matching, and problem-solving skills with two engaging wooden activities. The Foxy Magnetic Wooden Stacker includes 8 magnetic wooden pieces featuring a fox, duck, and 3-piece stacking tree. Wooden Stacking Garden Friends invites children to balance colorful garden-themed figures on a tree. Together, the sets encourage fine motor development, hand-eye coordination, logical thinking, shape recognition, and imaginative play. The Garden Friends set includes a printed drawstring storage bag.

2 years & up. Rustic Textured Sorting Stones is a beautifully crafted tactile resource designed to support early math and sorting skills through hands-on exploration. This 20 piece set includes four natural-toned bowls, each paired with four uniquely textured stones in matching colors. Children are invited to explore color, texture, and patterns as they sort, match, and organize each stone into its corresponding bowl. Perfect for encouraging foundational math concepts such as classification, one-to-one correspondence, and early pattern recognition, this set also supports sensory development through rich textures and earthy aesthetics. Ideal for open-ended play, Rustic Textured Sorting Stones is a calming, engaging tool that blends math learning with mindful exploration.

12 months & up. Ideal for imaginative play. Extra-chunky jumbo star connectors are easy to connect from any direction. Stack, build, connect, twist and snap the Jumbo Star Connectors together. The jumbo-size shapes are ideal for small hands. A great set for fine motor and manipulative areas and for the young architect who is just starting to build. Easy to clean and sanitize. Includes its own container for storage. Set contains 24 pieces in 5 different colors. Each piece measures 4.75" in diameter.

12 months and up. The Jumbo Hexagon Manipulative Set is the ideal early STEM toy! This set of 48 jumbo hexagon pieces feature knobs that can easily snap into place to form imaginative structures. Little ones will explore color and shape recognition, spatial relations and early engineering concepts. Sized perfectly for little hands, set comes inside of a stackable storage bin with locking lid. Pieces come in 6 bright colors; red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and purple. Hexagon pieces each measure 4" x 4".

3 years & up. Never has building been so wild than with these colorful and different bricks. Designed to snap together right side up and upside down to create a unique pivoting action. The set contains large and small Flexiblocks®, Flexiwivels, Flexiwheels, axle blocks, Flexilinks, and Flexibears. 373 piece set. Made in the USA.