Toy Fair 2018: FamilyFun Magazine’s Top Toys for Creative Kids

Learning to draw gets a high-tech boost with this projector and accompanying app. Kids simply upload any photo they want, and then the app will turn it into a sketch that they can then trace onto paper, a tote bag, or whatever they like! Ages 5 and up. $59.99, available now at toysrus.com. 

Puffy paint meets sand art in this new open-ended activity kit! The special sand paint is fun to create with because it’s both raised and glittery when it dries. The kit also comes with guided boards for kids who need a little inspiration, and then extra blank ones for unique ideas. Ages 6 and up. $18, available in March. 

It’s STEAM (the combo of science, tech, engineering, arts and math) at its best: LittleBits’ toys use snap-together circuits to help kids create while learning about electronics and engineering. Celebrating this idea, their new line of Hall of Fame Kits are inspired by things their existing community of kid inventors have made. The kits include: a crawly creature, a bubble bot, a night light, and an arcade game. Ages 8 and up. $39.99, available in May.  

What to do with all those old, broken crayons? Melt them up and make something new! Kids simply put the crayon pieces in the top of this pen, and then can use the melted wax to make raised designs on nearly any surface. Plus, a low-heat design makes it easy and safe. Ages 8 and up. $24.99, available in August. 

It’s time to bring art into your family game night. Older kids—and you, parents!—will get some big laughs as they try to sculpt what’s on their card before time runs out. (The game comes with Educational Insights’ popular Play Foam, which doesn’t dry out.) Ages 10 and up. $19.99, available now on Amazon.     

Every kid crafter loves a good diorama! Klutz ups the ante on this classic DIY by providing all the info kids need to grow crystal formations that will make magical homes for their unicorn, dragon, and seahorse figurines. Ages 8 and up. $22.99, available in August.  

Ordinary blocks just got even more fun. This 200-plus piece kit lets kids use Elenco’s snap-together circuits to wire their other toys so they can light up, move, make sounds, and more. Ages 8 and up. $44.95, available in summer 2018. 

The classic magnetic building tiles are on the move. Kids can use this set to construct a space coaster, and then send the included sky-car soaring through it. The pieces are compatible with other Magformers, so little builders can reimagine and expand their coarse with toys they already have on hand. Ages 3 and up. $129.99, available in fall 2018. 

Art kit meets storytelling telling experience with this selection of seven sweet crafts and activities. Little fairy enthusiasts will love creating a tiny home for their magical guest, and then watching it for special surprises. Ages 5 and up. $20, available later in 2018.  

Quilling, the art technique where you use paper coils to create designs, is now more accessible for kids. The kit’s “swirl station” device quickly curls the paper so that kids can then focus on transforming the coils into cards, jewelry, and figurines. Ages 8 and up. $24.99, available in fall 2018.