20 Top Toys to Embrace Building and Exploring

Kids can build a panda with its cub, an orca with its calf, and a penguin with its chick, all with the same LEGO bricks in this 626-piece set. Five numbered bags and a helpful image-based instruction manual are also included.

Mo Willems’ popular storybook pigeon comes to the construction category with this magnetic tile set that little ones can use to extend storytime into playtime. Each piece features colorful graphics inspired by the books.

Tweens, teens, and kidults can snap these blocks together to build a realistic, 80-piece peony flower, then combine with other sets (sold separately) to make a full bouquet.

Enter the world of Hello Kitty with this 354-piece construction set. Kids can build the cafe and enjoy 360-degree play for hours of fun. The set comes with Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, and Pompompurin figures and the bricks are compatible with all major construction brands.

The Tile Town range expands with this six-wheeled deluxe recycling truck. It comes with 12 standard tiles, one magnetic figure, and two action tiles. The included recycling worker engages the action tiles, making the dumpster lift and the trash emptying feature work.

Kids can open the working drawbridge and step into a world of magnetic wonder or soar through the skies with an exclusive dragon figure. This magnetic building set also includes MAGNA-TILES first balcony pieces and spiral staircases, as well as microMAGS pieces and plenty of glitter tiles for extra enchantment.

Kids and kidults can take a trip down memory lane with this collection of six retro-inspired building sets, each with up to 221 premium pieces. Styles include a TV, camera, boombox, and more.

This 48-piece set includes sleek black magnetic quarter circles, arches, intersections, and ramps. Kids can build roads, raceways, skateparks, cities, and more. It is compatible with all Connetix sets.

Young builders and Disney fans will feel like they are in the Frozen world of Arendelle as they build it with this magnetic tile set featuring characters like Anna, Elsa, and Olaf.

Kids can create endless structures and patterns in bright, vibrant, crayon-inspired colors with these mini-magnetic building tiles.

This collection of snap-and-play wooden blocks and felt accessories is easy to grip and ready for young ones to build, stack, and link in every direction.

When a normal card isn’t enough and you can’t give them a cake, this pastel building block kit might be the perfect postcard to send.

Creative builders can use gears, 3D connectors, LED light modules, spinners, and more to build endless versions of the ultimate marble run.

These fuzzy sticks and accessories act as funky friends and fidgets for kids and adults to twist, bend, build, play, and create.

Tecti is a scalable, modifiable, kinetic building system. Tweens and teens can create more than 50 structures using the interlocking, moveable cubes.

Space-minded kids can build their own rocket launcher with an easy-to-understand guide. Then, it’s time for lift-off as the rocket launches into the air.

This dino-themed set combines a paint-by-number game with the classic satisfaction of a puzzle. Young puzzlers match each number with the corresponding color; no glue or ironing is required.

Numberblocks introduce kids to simple math involving numbers and counting in a fun, stackable way. Inspired by the Netflix series, this set features 20 activities to extend the play beyond the building.

This set has a unique assortment of 105 wood logs and sturdy plastic pieces, offering kids endless possibilities to build their own mini homes and neighborhoods.

The world of BBC Studios’ Bluey expands with this tree house that preschoolers can build with colorful, sturdy magnetic tiles. The immersive features include a moving swing and a working light.