There’s a growing recognition that STEAM—Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math—skills are key to our children’s future success. And we’re big believers that kids should start learning these skills as young as possible. This week, we had a chance to explore a number of science-based kits, several of which are aimed at kids as young as four. We had a lot of fun experimenting, and so will you. But please remember that even though kids are the target, you’ll need to be there to supervise.

Groovy Lab in a Box (Groovy Lab in a Box)
There are a lot of science kits on the market (many of which we’ve reviewed here), but Groovy Lab in a Box kits are the only ones that come with absolutely everything your child (under your watchful eye) will need to do the experiments. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but a few missing ingredients could mean that the kit goes back on the shelf and never gets used. That won’t be a problem here. You can buy individual boxes or do a monthly subscription. We reviewed the Here Comes the Sun kit, which takes you through the process of building a solar balloon, a solar oven, and more. The ingredients are easy to use and the results are fully functional. But in some ways, the Lab Notebook is the best part, introducing the scientific process and explaining the concepts behind the experiments in a fun, engaging way that will leave the kids (and you too) wanting to do more. There’s also a website with activities and interactive videos that take the young scientist deeper in each specific kit’s subject matter. Single kits cost around $36, but if you do a year subscription, the price goes down significantly. http://www.groovylabinabox.com/

My First Chemistry Kit
My First Science Kit
My First Electrified Energy Lab (all from Scientific Explorer)
These kits are a blast and do exactly what they’re supposed to do: taking the scary out of science and make it cool. The Chemistry Kit is a great instruction to science for kids as young as 4. With your help, they’ll learn to make powders appear and disappear, turn liquids to solids, and a lot more. Also aimed at the youngest future scientists, My First Science Kit has a rainbow theme with eight different experiments that teach about colors, what happens when you mix them in different ways, and how to capture a rainbow in a tube. The Electrified Energy Lab is for slightly older kids—8 and up—and it packs in enough science to do 28 different experiments, including a building a battery tester, burglar alarm, and egg-cooking solar oven.  All these kits (and many others in the line) are based on the Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) program which was developed at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. Prices range from $17-$30. http://poof-slinky.com/

Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty (Putty World)
Not your father’s Silly Putty. You can tear it, smash it, stretch it, pound it, roll it, leave it under the couch, and it never dries out. Use it as a stress-reliever, draw on it with a black light pen, or use it to illustrate a whole host of science-based concepts, including measuring the speed of light, capturing shadows, defeating fingerprint scanners, and a lot more. If you run out of ideas, there are all sorts of fun, educational tricks and experiments on the website. Comes in dozens of colors priced at $9-$12. http://www.puttyworld.com/