We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Building a robot at home is more than just a fun activity--it's a hands-on way to explore the exciting world of STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math]. Whether you're searching for a children's toy robot to inspire curiosity or a more advanced robot-building kit for older kids or teens, like our best overall Sillbird STEM 12-in-1 Education Solar Robot Toy, the best robot kits offer options for all ages and skill levels. Robot building kits offer a perfect blend of creativity and learning, teaching essential skills like coding, problem-solving, and engineering through play. From preschool-friendly robot toys to beginner robotics kits for older children, these sets provide a fantastic introduction to the basics of robotics.

Released in April, Nintendo Labo was one of the more unusual games of this year – or any year. The box contains cardboard sheets, rubber bands and string along with a game cartridge, inviting players to build ingenious little cardboard models that, when combined with the Nintendo Switch console and its controllers, become working interactive toys. It's rather like cardboard Lego, presented in a way that gently introduces the basics of engineering. Labo is not as playground-popular as Minecraft or Fortnite, but it's a rare video game that provides educational value as well as fun, and does so without forcing it down kids' throats. There are three Nintendo Labo sets available: the Variety Kit, the Robot Kit and the Vehicles Kit.

The world's first Artificial Intelligence enabled cardboard robot that you build yourself. Smartibot works with your smartphone, meaning you can use your mobile as a remote control, or by attaching it to your robot, as it's brain. The Smartibot app contains a powerful A.I. called YOLO which can recognise objects Smartibot sees such as people, cars, dogs and bicycles. Without any programming you can tell your robot to follow you around with a cup of tea, chase your dog or your cat out of your bedroom or even follow your toy car. As well as the A.I. robot, Smartibot comes with cardboard parts to make two additional robots!

You say you're a parent or teacher investigating robot kits for children? And you don't want a simple solution with a single purpose: you want the child to experience science, technology, engineering, and math? You want a kit that teaches all four categories, from piecing together the foundation to wiring the appendages to programming the "brain" using software. That's where our list of robot kits for kids comes in. Most of the robot kits listed below are tied to terms such as STEM, Arduino, and Blockly.

Over the last week, I've spent more than 20 hours folding and assembling cardboard, and I've learned a few things. One: You don't want to follow exactly in my footsteps. And two: Nintendo's Labo is ingenious. It's something few other companies could have produced and turns the Switch into so much more than a game console: With Labo, it's an engine powering a whole new world of DIY creations. Building Labo kits can be a pretty huge time sink. But for some, that might be a good thing.

It's fair to say that the first reactions to Nintendo's Labo kits were...mixed. Did it usher in a new era of DIY fun, or was the veteran video game company making bank off selling expensive stacks of cardboard? Once we got our hands on it, some of our fears were put to rest -- except for the durability issue. What happens when kids tear through the less-durable material, or a parent accidentally throws pieces away? The Labo launched publicly today, but lucky for us, Nintendo is selling replacement sheets in its store.

Nintendo Labo – the new, strange, cardboard accessory for the Switch – is finally about to arrive. The accessory allows you to make a car, a piano, a robot or a motorbike. And it does all that with just the use of some very well put together cardboard. US and Japan will get hold of Labo this week, on 20 April. In Europe and the UK, they will come out a week later, on 27 April.

OWI will unveil the cute KIKO.893 robot kit at the Toy Fair 2018 this month. The KIKO.893 has an infrared sensor to learn about its surrounding. The new affordable toy robot has two pre-programmed modes (follow and explore) and scans its surroundings by using AI (artificial intelligence), I/R (infrared sensor), and six legs which allow it to turn 360 degrees and seamlessly complete obstacles. Kids need to first build this 107-piece STEM kit, before letting the robot roam and take control of their home. KIKO.893 features sound and light effects to show emotions and gestures.

The 1994 AAAI Robot-Building Laboratory (RBL-94) was held during the Twelfth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence. The primary goal of RBL-94 was to provide those with little or no robotics experience the opportunity to acquire practical experience in a few days. Thirty persons, with backgrounds ranging from university professors to practitioners from industry, participated in the three-part lab. The event was meant to appeal to the hacker yearnings of participants to experience for themselves the joys and excitement of constructing a robot and to learn about the real problems of such an endeavor. RBL-94 was inspired by and shared a common history with a couple of robot-building laboratories.

In an attempt to get robotics-minded kids more interested in life sciences--and vice versa--Stanford researchers have designed DIY robot kits for automating chemistry experiments. Using a Lego Mindstorms EV3 set and some plastic syringes, students can build robots that measure and transfer liquids, automating their their classroom laboratory assignments. Instructions for building the robot were published Tuesday in the journal PloS Biology. "What's key for me is that we merge robotics education--which is loved by kids and teachers--and life sciences education," says Ingmar Riedel-Kruse, a bioengineer at Stanford who led the project. And maybe it's more fun to engage in chemistry or biology experiments if you do it with a playful robot."