2020 TOTY Awards

They’re often considered to be the “Oscars” of the toy industry, and on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, the next Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards will be distributed at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City as Toy Fair New York gets underway. After carefully examining hundreds of nominees, a panel of industry experts determined this year’s finalists in 16 categories. One winner in each category, along with the consumer-chosen People’s Choice award and the overall Toy of the Year Award will be presented in February. Now it’s your chance to vote for your favorites.

– Here are the nominees for STEM/STEAM Toy of the Year! –

Honoring toys that encourage kids to develop skills (foundational or curricular) in the core disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

TOTY 2020

Toy Insider 2019 Holiday Gift Guide STEM 10Amazing Rescue 50-piece Set (Magformers)

Kids can click together magnetic pieces to build a fire station and a fire truck. This set includes 24 magnetic pieces, two characters, and emergency vehicle accessories.
Ages: 3+, $59.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner


TOTY 2020

Toy Insider 2019 Holiday Gift Guide STEM 10

Artie 3000 (Educational Insights)

This coding/drawing robot features easy-to-use drag and drop programming and is compatible with a Mac, PC, or tablet. Kids can get creative by telling Artie what to draw next, while learning skills such as basic programming, geometry, and math.
Ages: 7+, $69.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner


TOTY 2020

Toy Insider 2019 Holiday Gift Guide Top Holiday Toys

Beaker Creatures Alien Experiment Lab (Learning Resources)

Kids can make their own Reactor Pods, soak their alien creatures in slime, and more. The 18-piece set includes mystery creatures, an experiment booklet with real science facts, and hands-on tools.
Ages: 5+, $19.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner


TOTY 2020

Toy Insider 2019 Holiday Gift Guide Top Holiday Toys

Crayola Color Chemistry Arctic Lab (Crayola)

Kids can explore color with 50 winter-themed science experiments, including 15 ready-to-go projects that don’t require any additional household items. Experiments include creating fake snow that grows on trees, color-changing, window-cling snowflakes, and more.
Ages: 7+, $29.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner


Toy Insider 2019 Holiday Gift Guide Top Holiday ToysGumball Machine Maker (Thames & Kosmos)

Kids learn physics concepts as they build their own gumball machine and watch the gumball perform stunts and tricks through trial-and-error experiments. Each segment of the track teaches a different lesson in mechanical physics.
Ages: 6+, $39.95
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner


TOTY 2020

Toy Insider 2019 Holiday Gift Guide STEM 10

LEGO Boost Star Wars Droid Commander (LEGO Systems)

Kids can download the LEGO BOOST Star Wars app and build three droids, including R2-D2. Travel to Star Wars locations in the app and code and command the droids to solve more than 40 challenging missions.
Ages: 8+, $199.99
Buy now on Amazon | Toy Insider Holiday Gift Guide Winner


TOTY 2020

Mech-5 Mechanical Coding Robot (Elenco)

This mission-based, entry level robot is designed to inspire young engineers to learn about mechanical engineering principles and coding basics.
Ages: 10+, $39.95
Buy now on Amazon


– VOTE NOW! –

TOTY-2020-VOTE

Public voting for the 2020 TOTY Awards is open to consumers, retailers, media, and members of The Toy Association through Jan. 5. For full details, rules, and additional information, please visit toyawards.org. Proceeds from the annual event benefit The Toy Foundation in its efforts to bring joy and comfort to children in need through the experience of toys and play.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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