The 29 Best Toys for 10-Year-Olds in 2021

Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.

Our Top Picks

Klutz / LEGO Chain Reaction Science & Building Kit at Amazon

"Comes equipped with 33 LEGO pieces, six plastic balls, string, and other materials needed to create 10 different moving machines."

Magnetic Dart Board at Amazon

"Instead of darts with sharp points that can injure someone or damage the house, these are made with a safe magnetic tip."

All-Natural Lip Balm Boutique at Amazon

"Kids can create their own custom lip balm using this kit, which includes all-natural beeswax."

Educational Insights Kanoodle at Amazon

"Kanoodle is a game of stacking, puzzling, and strategic thinking that includes 200 puzzle challenges."

Color Your Own Water Bottle at Amazon

"Kids will love this DIY water bottle kit that includes a BPA-free water bottle, markers, a pre-printed design, and embellishments."

Uno - Minecraft Card Game at Amazon

"It comes with basic UNO instructions as well as a special “Creeper” card rule to make the game a little more interesting."

Original Stationery Unicorn Slime Kit at Amazon

"Kids love hands-on projects, slime, and glittery fun, and this kit—designed for kids 7 years old and up—has it all."

SNAPTAIN S5C WiFi FPV Drone at Amazon

"This smart drone is perfect for beginners and is full of features like voice control, photo and video capabilities, and more."

Klutz / LEGO Gadgets Science & Activity Kit at Walmart

"With this STEM set, kids can create 11 moving machines using the kit’s 58 pieces and detailed instructions."

Snap Circuits Classic SC-300 Electronics Exploration Kit at Amazon

"Any 10-year-old with a curiosity for electronics will love this circuit experiment kit that can build more than 300 experiments."

By the time kids reach 10 years old, they’ve probably moved on to playing with games and toys that are hands-on and specific to personal interests—like sports, science, or art. You can help them lean into or explore new interests with some of these top toys and games. Whether you’re looking for something that’s purely fun or a game with some educational value mixed in, there’s something for everyone.

Here are the best toys for 10-year-olds with every interest.

Our Top Picks

Klutz / LEGO Chain Reaction Science & Building Kit

This kit, which is best for kids 8 years old and up, comes equipped with 33 LEGO pieces, six plastic balls, string, and other materials needed to create 10 different moving machines. There is also an 80+ page instruction book to help guide you through the process of each project. Like any LEGO set, there’s no limit to what you can create using the included parts, and kids will love that this set includes extra pieces to create exciting chain reactions.

Magnetic Dart Board

Dartboards are a classic, and this one is great for kids because instead of darts with sharp points that can injure someone or damage the house, these have a safe magnetic tip that allows them to stick to the board. Kids ages 6 and up will enjoy the game itself while also further developing their hand-eye coordination. This set comes with one dartboard and six safety darts.

All-Natural Lip Balm Boutique

Kids can create their own custom lip balm using this kit, which includes all-natural beeswax. The chemistry kit includes a lip balm mold, a lotion bar mold (which has four shapes), a sticker sheet, six gift bags, beeswax for the projects, and an instruction book. Other ingredients used in the formulas are all household items you can likely find in your own pantry. This product is best for kids between 8 and 15 years old.

Educational Insights Kanoodle

Kanoodle is a game of stacking, puzzling, and strategic thinking. It comes with a puzzle instruction book that includes 200 puzzle challenges, each with their own level of difficulty ranging from simple to seemingly near-impossible. The game includes 12 puzzle pieces, a board, carrying case, and instruction book, and it is made for anyone 8 years old and up.

Color Your Own Water Bottle

Kids who enjoy being artistic will love this DIY water bottle kit that includes a BPA-free water bottle, markers, a pre-printed design, and embellishments. The water bottle cap has an attached clip so it can be hung from a backpack, lanyard, or something else. This kit is best for kids between 6 and 15 years old, and the water bottle is hand wash only.

Uno - Minecraft Card Game

UNO is a classic favorite for a reason: it’s fun! If the 10-year-old in your life is a fan of Minecraft, this UNO set is perfect. It comes with basic UNO instructions as well as a special “Creeper” card rule to make the game a little more interesting. Kids as young as 7 can enjoy this card game.

Original Stationery Unicorn Slime Kit

Kids love hands-on projects, slime, and glittery fun, and this kit has it all. It’s designed for kids 7 years old and up, and it includes glue, unicorn beads, slime containers, inks, scents, and everything else they need to make their own custom slime. If this is your first time making slime, the kit includes detailed instructions as well as access to a video for even more help.

SNAPTAIN S5C WiFi FPV Drone

This smart drone is full of features like voice control, 360-degree flips, photo and video capabilities, easy controls, and enhanced safety. It’s designed for beginners ages 10 years old and up, but also has advanced tools for anyone who has a little more experience with drones. Kids can draw out their flight path on a smartphone (not included) before taking off and can then control it from the same phone once it's in the air.

Klutz / LEGO Gadgets Science & Activity Kit

With this STEM set, kids can create 11 moving machines using the kit’s 58 pieces and detailed instructions. The parts come together to make things like a robot, claw grabber, and a “flywheel cruiser.” The Gadgets Science and Activity Kit was designed for kids 8 years old and up.

Snap Circuits Classic SC-300 Electronics Exploration Kit

Any 10-year-old with an interest in or curiosity for electronics will love this circuit experiment kit. It has all the parts and instructions necessary to build more than 300 experiments, which include things like a lie detector and an AM radio. Every part is numbered and color-coded, and they snap in and out of the plastic grid for safety (no soldering necessary). It’s a great set for beginners ages 8 years old and up.

Flybar Master Pogo Stick

This pogo stick is a great gift for a kid with a lot of energy. The handles have foam grips, and the framing is also made of foam so there won’t be any spring-pinching injuries. It’s also designed with a large, no-slip bottom grip to help kids keep their balance and reduce the risk of falls. You can get this pogo stick in seven different color options. It’s best for kids 9 years old and up between 80-160 pounds.

Sphero Mini App-Enabled Programmable Robot Ball

Any kid who is interested in coding will enjoy this programmable robot ball. It connects to a smartphone or tablet (not included) through an app where you can control and code it to your liking. The app has features that are great for kids who are just starting to code and allows them to learn basic skills and see their work come to life through the robot ball. Even if kids aren't interested in coding, the ball has preset games and features that they'll still find fun.

Really RAD Robots Turbo Bot

This remote- and voice-controlled robot moves fast, does tricks, tells jokes, and is equipped with sound effects and recording capabilities. The remote controller has a “turbo” button that will make the robot go even faster than it already does. The robot is smart too, because it learns to avoid obstacles and bumps as it drives. Turbo Bot is great for kids from 5 to 15 years old.

National Geographic Slime Kit

You can’t go wrong with slime, and this kit has all the materials and instructions needed to make your own slime and learn fun facts about the pre-made varieties found in the box—like glow-in-the-dark, magnetic, and color-changing. It includes storage containers for the creations, and all ingredients are non-toxic. This set is great for kids who are 8 years old and up.

SKLZ Pro Mini Basketball Hoop with Ball

There’s nothing flashy about this toy, but it is about as classic as it gets. The shatterproof backboard attaches to the top of a door (with foam padding to avoid damage) and has a spring action rim. It comes with a net and a 5-inch rubber basketball (that will need to be inflated before it is played with).

Klutz Make Your Own Soap Kit

The Klutz Make Your Own Soap Kit is a STEM activity that allows kids, ages 6 and up, to make a custom scented bar of soap. The kit comes with 20 blocks of clear soap base, soap molds, color tablets, skin-safe glitter, a dropper for the coconut-papaya scent, soap stickers, and more. It does require parental help or supervision, but it’s a great hands-on project with a fun finished product.

Educational Insights Nancy B’s Microscope & Activity Journal Set

Introduce a love for science with this kit that includes a working microscope, safe chemistry tools, slides and slide covers, an activity journal, and more. It’s great for kids between 8 and 12 years old who enjoy learning the ins and outs of the things around them. The microscope requires three AAA batteries that are not included in the kit.

Rainbow Loom

Kids can improve their fine motor skills while using this loom to make bracelets, necklaces, rings, and more with rainbow-colored rubber bands. The set includes the loom, 600 rubber bands, a metal hook, 24 ‘C’ clips, and an introduction manual. It’s best for kids 8 years old and up.

LEGO Creator Mighty Dinosaurs

The LEGO Creator series has a lot of great products, but this dinosaur set is one of the very best. The kit comes with all the LEGO blocks needed to build a T-Rex, Triceratops, or Pterodactyl. It comes with detailed instructions for building the dinos and is designed for kids between 7 and 12 years old.

ThinkFun Gravity Maze Marble Run Brain Game

If you’re looking for something that requires critical thinking or engineering, this toy has it all. It comes with instructions for 60 different challenges (with varying levels of difficulty), nine towers, a game grid, three marbles, and one target piece. This STEM toy is best suited for kids between 8 and 15 years old.

Discovery Kids Mindblown Solar Robot Creation

With this STEM kit, kids get 190 parts that can be used to build 12 different motorized robots. There are blueprints for each robot model and even a solar panel to give the different bots some power. This set is great for kids 8 years old and older who enjoy building things, tinkering with electronics, solving puzzles, and strategic thinking.

Melissa and Doug Suspend Family Game (1-4 players)

This game can be played solo or with up to three other people and encourages strategic thinking and problem solving. It comes with a wood game base, four frame rods, dice, 24 game rods, and a wooden connector. Kids as young as 8 can enjoy the game, but it’s one that even grown-ups will find entertaining.

Harry Potter Coding Kit

With this kit, Harry Potter fans will learn how to build a magic wand that'll let them participate in various Hogwarts-themed coding challenges on their tablet (not included). There are more than 70 step-by-step challenges to code into the wand that will allow it to (virtually) do things like grow pumpkins and “make feathers fly.”

Each coding challenge builds up from the previous and has clear instructions for troubleshooting. The wand is made for kids 6 years old and up and has a one-year warranty. One important thing to note is that it requires Bluetooth to sync with a tablet.

4M Tabletop Robot

This DIY robot crab kit is great for a kid who is just getting into robotics or who enjoys a simple project. It includes everything needed to build and operate the crab (except one AAA battery), which will walk across the floor or table and even avoid obstacles. This kit is best for kids 8 years old and up.

Candy Chemistry

Candy Chemistry uses a kid’s love of all things sugar to get them excited about a science project. Kids 10 years old and up can make gummy bears, rock candy, chocolate, and more using this set that teaches basic project activities like measuring, weighing, and monitoring temperatures. While the end result of this activity is delicious candy, the kit doesn’t include any food items but has instructions for using ingredients found in most pantries.

Necklace & Friendship Bracelet Maker

Kids can make friendship bracelets and necklaces in a matter of minutes with this toy. It comes with 60 spools of string (in five colors), metal clasps, and a design booklet. The machine has preset designs kids can pick from, or they can create their own. There are enough materials in the set to make up to five bracelets and two necklaces before needing to restock on thread or clasps. This set is made for kids 8 years old and up.

4M Crystal Growing Kit

This crystal growing kit has everything needed for seven different crystal experiments. There are clear step-by-step instructions that teach kids how to create and grow their own crystals completely from scratch. You can also download an app to get the instructions and upload pictures of the crystals as they grow. The recommended age for this popular kit is 10 years old and up.

Pom Pom Wow Decoration Station

The Pom Pom Wow Decoration Station allows kids to create custom pom poms using six different techniques. The set includes 75 pom poms in four colors, four watercolors, one glitter gel pen, adhesive decorative dots, two markers, stampers, and more. All of the materials fit neatly into the kit which can be easily unpacked or packed back up. The set is recommended for kids 6 years old and up.

Crayola Color Chemistry Set

Kids can use this chemistry set to learn how to make an erupting volcano, glow worms, a tornado in a bottle, colorful quicksand, and more. The kit includes an instruction book for 50 different experiments and has enough materials to carry out 16 of them. Even better, every experiment is full of color since they were all created by Crayola chemists. Parent supervision is recommended, and the kit was made for kids 7 years old and up.

Final Verdict

There is no shortage of toys and games to choose from for your favorite 10-year-old. LEGO builders will prefer the LEGO Creator Mighty Dinosaurs kit, fans of glitter and unicorns will enjoy making sparkly slime with the Original Stationery Unicorn Slime Kit, and any kid who opts for outdoor play will naturally gravitate towards the Flybar Master Pogo Stick.

Why Trust Verywell Family

Ashley Ziegler is a staff and freelance writer who covers lifestyle, home, parenting, and commerce content for a variety of platforms. She’s a wife to a public school administrator, mom to a 1-year-old daughter and 3-year-old daughter, and an aunt to three nieces and two nephews ranging from 5 to 10 years old. In addition to regularly scouring the internet to find the best things for herself, Ashley spends multiple hours a week researching, comparing, and writing about products specifically for kids and families.