Best educational toys for kids

Loving to learn starts from a young age and comes in a variety of forms, from curiosity about the world to constructing advanced projects to building emotional connections with those around you.

To support this natural development and encourage learning through play, here are some of the best educational toys that kids aged 4+ can tackle on their own or with others.

What is learning through play?

The more we study children’s brains and development, the more evidence we see that children learn best through play.

Children learn by experimenting and playing with the world around them from their earliest years – think of a baby crumpling paper, or a toddler making pretend food in a toy kitchen. These children are discovering how their world works and developing key cognitive, physical, and social-emotional skills.

As they grow older, there may be more focus on academic instruction, but playful learning is still necessary. Kids can make meaningful connections between joyful experiences and their education, setting the stage for them to become life-long learners with a love of exploration and discovery.

LEGO® Classic Creative Vehicles

Introduce kids aged 5 and upwards to a world of creativity with the versatile LEGO® Classic Creative Vehicles set.

Featuring 900 construction bricks, including special pieces and 52 wheels, kids have everything they need to build 8 unique vehicles – including a toy police car, an ice-cream van, a limo and more.

Plus, they can develop their creative building skills and get experimental with rebuild or free-building fun. Kids can build one of the 10 included ideas and use the imaginative rebuild guidance to boost their creative confidence. They can also free build and bring their own designs to life.

LEGO® Creator T. rex

Teach young learners all about ancient worlds and creatures as they explore this awe-inspiring LEGO® Creator T. rex dinosaur toy. They can bring it to life by moving its head, feet, tail and more into different poses, offering endless opportunities for creative play.

And that’s not all – with this 3in1 toy they can also rebuild the T. rex into a triceratops with three horns, or a pterodactyl with big movable wings!

With three exciting dinosaur builds in one box, this LEGO Creator toy building kit is a great gift to expand kids’ imaginations.

LEGO® City Space Explorers Pack

Budding astronauts aged 6 and upwards will love learning all about intergalactic exploration with the LEGO® City Space Explorers Pack. Featuring three stellar sets in one box, the Space Explorers Pack is filled with epic features and fantastic details to inspire out-of-this-world adventures.

With the Space Construction Mech (60428), kids can build a toy mech suit for exploring new worlds. There’s also an Interstellar Spaceship (60430) for zipping between planets.

Each build is bursting with fun details and accessories, promising hours of fun for space-loving kids!

LEGO® City Fire Station with Fire Engine

Calling all future firefighters! Kids can role-play putting out imaginary blazes alongside everyday heroes with the LEGO® City Fire Station with Fire Engine playset.

The fire-fighting headquarters come with a cool control centre, a high-tech drone, and a fire engine with a ladder that reaches for the sky. With five firefighter minifigures and a fire dog figure, kids can create their own rescue missions, learning teamwork, problem-solving, and the importance of keeping our communities safe.

LEGO® NINJAGO® Ninja Team Combo Vehicle

Encourage kids’ social and emotional learning as they role-play stories about teamwork and friendship with this 4-in-1 LEGO® NINJAGO® Ninja Team Combo Vehicle.

With six NINJAGO minifigures – including ninja Sora, Lloyd, Nya and Cole – kids can team up with their favourite heroes to recreate exciting action from season 2 of the NINJAGO Dragons Rising TV show. They can play with the large NINJAGO vehicle action toy or separate it into four smaller vehicles: Sora’s glider, Lloyd’s off-road racer, and Cole and Nya’s motorcycles.

Whatever adventure they choose, boys and girls aged 9+ will love exploring everything this super cool set has to offer.

LEGO® Technic Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance Pull-Back

Featuring authentic details and realistic movement, the LEGO® Technic Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance Pull-Back is a fantastic way to introduce kids to the world of engineering.

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 race car toy’s sleek design is inspired by the real-life version, with cool sticker details to create an authentic finish. Once the build is complete, kids can engage the thrilling pull-back action to send the car racing along an imaginary track.

This LEGO Technic set makes a great gift for curious car fans aged 7 and upwards, getting them excited about physics and technology.

Discover more LEGO® toys to support your child’s learning

With a huge range of LEGO® sets available to suit every age and interest, there's a perfect building adventure waiting for every child. Whether you know a budding artist, a young film fanatic or a future scientist, our diverse themes spark creativity and learning through endless building possibilities.

Through following instructions and unleashing their imaginations, your child will be developing vital skills along the way.