Some of Our Favorite Brain-Boosting Toys for Kids of All Ages

By testing kids’ physical and mental limits, these toys help children learn where the boundaries of their knowledge lie, and how to transcend them. Take a look at some of our favorite ways to color outside the lines.

Orbita MIDI Color Sequencer

Photograph: Antosh Sergiew

This spinning sequencer is like musical roulette for budding ravers. Place the colored magnets anywhere on the four gray concentric rings, each of which controls a MIDI loop. Then plug the sequencer into a smartphone or computer, connect your favorite music software, and get creative. All four loops run simultaneously, with each magnet representing a different note or sound. You can adjust the pitch and mute individual loops too. Refreshingly mechanical, the Orbita makes visualizing music production child’s play. $458, playtronica.com

Lego Smart Play System Pokémon Sets

Photograph: Antosh Sergiew

By combining a new smart brick with programmable NFC tags and minifigures, kids of all ages can now design and interact with Lego creations like never before. The 2- by 4-stud rechargeable smart brick is packed with a synthesizer, speaker, accelerometer, gyroscope, light and sound sensors, and LEDs. A positioning system can sense orientation between multiple smart bricks. A big bonus: Lego’s Smart Play System works entirely without attention-sucking screens.

Lego’s first Pokémon collab almost crashed the website, so surely the Danes had IT on standby when 12 new Smart Play kits came online. There are two all-in-one kits: Pikachu’s 400-piece Training House and the 751-piece Charizard-Jolteon battle. Both include smart bricks and tags that can trigger lights and sounds. $70 and up, lego.com

Stapelstein Rainbow Set

Courtesy of Stapelstein

Kids can stack and arrange—then play or walk on—these 11-inch tiles to develop their balance. $299, stapelstein.com

KidzLane Electronic Dance Mat

Courtesy of Kidzlane

Pump your music through the speakers built into this mat (using Bluetooth) and the flashing symbols tell kids where to step, stomp, and slide along with the beat. $19, walmart.com

Takway Sweekar

Courtesy of Takway.AI

A Tamagotchi-like pet with an AI brain that listens and remembers as it grows. $149, takway.ai

Looi Robot

Courtesy of TangibleFuture

Snap your phone onto this tiny, tank-like robotic body, and the assembly transforms into an interactive mobile robot. The companion app gives the creature an expressive face and a personality powered by ChatGPT. $239, looirobot.com

Crocs Super Mario Core Classic Clog

Courtesy of Crocs

One iconic brand meets another. And if you know what this means, you’ll be very excited: Each pair holds 26 Jibbitz charms, and there are many Nintendo-themed charms to choose from. $70, crocs.com

Gibson x Loog Les Paul

Courtesy of Loog

Loog makes three-stringed electric guitars that are a hoot to play—and actually sound and feel like a real guitar. This one, a collaboration with Gibson, adapts the classic Les Paul shape for smaller hands. Get it in real Gibson finishes like Shell Pink or TV Yellow. $229, loogguitars.com

Woom Wow Balance Bike

Courtesy of Woom

The perfect buy if your bambino has nailed the art of sitting and standing independently, and you want more chaotic fun and adventure in your life. This self-centering, self-balancing bike is designed for kids as young as 9 months (from 28 to 40 inches in height). It gives them a chance to become the next big name on Red Bull’s MotoGP roster before they’ve even realized that broccoli isn’t actually fun little trees. $199, woom.com

Kibu Headphones

Courtesy of Kibu

Turn kids’ headphones into a brilliant STEM project. Kibu gives them snap-together parts they have to assemble before they listen. Components are 3D-printed from plant-based materials, they have a standard 3.5-mm jack, and volume is limited to a safe 85 dB. When something breaks, parts are cheap, and your kids can learn to repair the set themselves. $73, kibu.family

Marvin’s Miniblocks

Courtesy of The Little Marvin

It looks like Tetris, it’s based on Tetris. These wooden blocks slide down from the top of the board to create shapes, building hand-eye coordination in 3- to 5-year-olds. $55, the-littlemarvin.com

HoverAir Aqua

Courtesy of HoverAir

This small, license-free 4K camera drone has 10 flight modes, including a “follow-me” feature. Take it to the beach; a floating waterproof housing makes it capable of taking off and landing on water. $1,299, hoverair.com

Modu Balance Track

Courtesy of MODU

Kids and parents can design and construct their own elevated walkways to improve their balance. Keep it simple for kids as young as 3, then increase the complexity as they age. $203, modutoy.com

Timex Time Machines 29mm Dinosaur Watch

Courtesy of Timex

Tells time in any era, not just the Jurassic. $49, timex.com

UNO Canvas x MoMA Card Game

Courtesy of Mattel

Can Matisse, Mondrian, and Monet really stack the +4? $25, mattel.com

Blipblox After Dark

Courtesy of Blipblox

A kid-friendly synthesizer for building beats, bleeps, and musical confidence. $219, blipblox.com

Dex Camera

Courtesy of Dex

Take a photo and Dex identifies what’s in the frame, then teaches the word in one of 16 languages. It can turn pictures into flash cards and use spoken stories to, you know, make learning fun. $249, dex.camera