Best Black Friday science kit deals

Science kit deals: Image of kids playing with science kit
(Image credit: Getty / M_a_y_a)

If your kids are naturally creative and inquisitive, these black friday science kit deals are too good to pass up. Including cooking kits, these deals also mean your child can spend days of fun completing experiments. 

Playing with science kits not only gives your child a break from staring at a screen for hours at a time but also gives them the opportunity to participate in a hands-on educational experience. Teach them the science behind some impressive magic tricks with the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Science Magic Kit — now 22% at Amazon (opens in new tab)! The whole family can participate too, as most of these kits have easy-to-follow directions and include everything you’ll need for the experiments.

Check out our list of science kit deals. It's updated regularly so you’ll always know what's in stock. More gifts for kids can be found at Live Science’s Osmo deals. (opens in new tab)

Today's best science kit deals

Learn & Climb Dynamo Science Kit for Kids:  $34.99 (opens in new tab)

Learn & Climb Dynamo Science Kit for Kids: $34.99 $24.99 on Amazon (opens in new tab)
You can get save 28% off this science kit at Amazon. This product is ideal for big families and a great choice for gifting. With good reviews on Amazon, Learn & Climb offers several types of science kits, each offering a variety of STEM and chemistry activities for kids. 

$29.99 at Amazon (opens in new tab)

Learn & Climb Science Kit for Kids: $44.99 $29.99 at Amazon (opens in new tab)

Save 33% on this giant science kit packed with more than 60 experiments, including a glowing lava lamp, an explosive volcano and other bubbling concoctions, while learning about magnetism, chemical reactions, acids and bases, and more.

$35.80 at Amazon (opens in new tab)

Thames & Kosmos Kids First Chemistry Set: $45.00 $35.80 at Amazon (opens in new tab)
For the child who can't wait to put on those safety goggles and start mixing ingredients, this might be the perfect science kit, and it's now 14% off at Amazon. 

$29.95 at Amazon (opens in new tab)

Playz My First Coding & Computer Science Kit: $44.95 $29.95 at Amazon (opens in new tab)

Kids as young as 6 can learn about computer coding with this Playz science kit. With the kit and instruction book, your child can create and play with binary necklaces, ancient encryption devices, sorting races, mystery mazes, pixelated pictures and more. 

$30.80 at Amazon (opens in new tab)

Hape Junior Inventor Optical Science Lab: $39.99 $30.80 at Amazon (opens in new tab)

You won't believe your eyes when you peer at all of the optical creations in this science kit. Kids ages 4 and up can conduct eight optical science experiments that involve creating: a periscope, a cone Illusion, a 3D viewer, a rotating kaleidoscope, an Infinity mirror, an optical lab, an optical illusion pendulum and a camera obscura.

How to choose a science kit

There are so many options when looking for the perfect science kit for your child or a friend. Here are some factors to think about when scanning the "shelves" for an entertaining and educational kit.

Interest: Some kids have very particular interests that match perfectly with certain science kits. For your dinosaur enthusiast, you can choose from a slew of paleontology-geared kits that let them dig for bones and learn about the Jurassic along the way. A free-spirited naturalist could dive into a bug-catching set, an ant farm (opens in new tab) or a build-your-own terrarium. For children who have an array of interests, or even those who might want to expand their minds, you can think about the types of activities and experiences they like. A child who loves physical activity might enjoy a stomp-rocket kit or a virtual reality science kit (opens in new tab) that lets them interact with the universe as an astronaut. Someone with an interest in mixing ingredients for cooking might also love a magic potions kit or one that guides them in making candy (opens in new tab) while learning about food chemistry. 

Materials: Some of these kits come with just enough materials to perform certain experiments one or two times. For instance, an erupting volcano kit (opens in new tab) can include the plastic basics and the chemicals to perform a few of the illustrated experiments. So you'll need to provide extra household supplies to finish them all. Other kits, like those for growing crystals (opens in new tab), tend to include just enough supplies to do one experiment. (If you are looking for items you can recycle or throw away when done, these might be the perfect choice.) Also, check to see whether any of the chemicals or tools involved require parental oversight. 

Level of difficulty: Most science kits state the recommended age levels, though if the kit is for a kindergartener who doesn't know how to read yet, you still might need to be involved. For instance, this STEM solar robot kit (opens in new tab) is rated for ages 8 and up; if your child is 6 and is interested in robot-building, just remember they may need extra guidance along the way.

Mess: When making your science-kit buying choices, clean-up is another factor to consider. Chemistry-based sets (opens in new tab) tend to make the most mess, with erupting fizz and "smoking" magical concoctions. Dinosaur digging as well as crystal-growing can also be messy. Sometimes, of course, the messier the activity, the more fun and engaging it is for kids. But for a tidier science experience, look no further than robots, electric circuits, coding games and even some of the VR options.

Jeanna Bryner
Live Science Editor-in-Chief

Jeanna served as editor-in-chief of Live Science. Previously, she was an assistant editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Jeanna has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland, and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.