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Ready for the real thing
The best STEM kits for 12 year olds
Twelve is the edge of this category. Many twelve-year-olds are ready for actual electronics, real chemistry or programming rather than subscription kits. The kits still worth buying at twelve are the ones that treat them as a young engineer instead of a child.
What to look for at 12
- Rigour - real chemistry, real mechanisms, real programming
- Open-ended problems over guided builds
- Credibility: something they would mention to a friend
What to avoid at 12
- Anything whose sweet spot is 6-8
- Guided-only builds with no room to modify
Our picks for a 12 year old
Still our pick at the top of its range, and by some distance the best value: a motorised build every week, with a challenge layer that scales to a twelve-year-old who wants to make something faster or stronger rather than just finish it. You are buying nearer the end of the runway than the start, but nothing else here gives you four projects a month for the money - and a younger sibling inherits a kit, not a pile of finished models.
The most rigorous option at twelve, and the one to pick if the interest is specifically chemistry. Expect to supervise, and expect each experiment to happen exactly once.
Still very good at twelve, particularly for a Rober fan - but it is one build a month.
Not sure any of these fit your 12 year old?
The quiz factors in age alongside the problem you're solving, your time and your storage — which is usually what separates two kits that look identical on paper.
Start the quizFree · No email required · Your answers stay in your browser
Every kit, with the age ranges
| Kit | Score | Ages | New content | Reuses parts | Needs a parent | From | Visit brand site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ibrickOur pick | 9.6 | 5-12 | Weekly | Yes | Rarely | $27/mo | Visit |
 CrunchLabs Build Box | 8.7 | 8-14 | Monthly | Partly | Rarely | $24.95/mo | Visit |
 MEL Science | 8.4 | 5-16 | Monthly | Partly | Usually | $29.9/mo | Visit |
 KiwiCo | 8.2 | 0-16 | Monthly | Partly | Rarely | $23.95/mo | Visit |
 Little Passports | 7.9 | 3-10 | Monthly | No | Rarely | $24.95/mo | Visit |
 Green Kid Crafts | 7.8 | 2-10 | Monthly | No | Rarely | $19.95/mo | Visit |
 Lovevery | 7.7 | 0-5 | Monthly | Partly | Rarely | $36/mo | Visit |
Common questions
Is 12 too old for STEM subscription kits?
For most of this category, yes - you are close to the point where a real electronics kit or a programming course serves them better. MEL Science is the exception that scales past it.