LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 - $199.99

Remember the static LEGOs of yesteryear, where animation was confined to our imagination? Well, no longer. The NXT 2.0 is a 600-piece customizable LEGO robot. Its brain consists of a 32-bit microprocessor, 4 input and 3 output ports and a USB communication link. The NXT also features an ultrasonic sensor, 2 touch sensors, and can be customized with sounds and lights. Feel old yet?

LEGO Robo

Robotic Arm Edge - $54.95

This massive robotic arm may remind you of clichéd scenes from movies involving jumbo factories, and rightfully so. With a wrist motion of 120 degrees and a vertical reach of 15 whooping inches, this swiveling hand can be controlled to grab, drop, open and close over objects up to 100 grams. Harassing cats comes immediately to mind…

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/robotic-arm-edge.html

Rubik’s Mirror Blocks Cube - $14.99

How do you make a Rubik’s even more complicated? Well 1. Make each of the cubes reflective silver, and 2. Use different size blocks! The unique result is something that needs to be seen to be believed—er, vaguely understood.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/games/b077

USB Missile Launcher - $29.95

Set this foam missile launcher on your desk, than use your PC to aim and launch 3 foam missiles up to six feet away. Comes with missiles and control software.

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/usb-missile-launcher.html

Fretlight Guitars - Price varies

Tab books to learn guitar? Music theory? We don’t need none of that! Well we used to…sigh…but no more. Fretlight guitars are modeled after some of the great bodies from Gibson and Fender. They feature an advanced polymer fretboard laid over an LED circuit board that can actually teach you to play scales, chords, and songs by projecting notes across the fretboard.

Fretlight.com

NERF Longstrike Sniper Rifle - $29.99

We’re not ones to encourage kids into violence, but let’s face it—they’ll be playing some iteration of CoD in the near future. And what better way for them to get some aiming practice than a NERF sniper rifle? This toy gun can split into three separate pieces, including a blaster, barrel extension, flip-up sight, a quick reload clip and six darts. Oh, and it’s three freakin’ feet long!

Nerf.com

Model Planes - Price varies by model

Fairly straight forward and plenty to choose from—but we like the idea of kids learning how to take a bunch of seemingly unrelated parts and building something beautiful from them. You never know where such skills could take you…

www.modelplanes.com

Gundam Models - Pictured: Gundam [high spec ver.] G-System Resin Model Kit - $349.99

Acting as a direct window into many of our nerdy pasts, the staff unanimously decided that Gundam models belong on this list—some of the more complex ones, like the one pictured here, involve hours of painstaking work and develops an immaculate attention to detail. Ah, nostalgia.

www.hobbyfan.com

Echobot Voice Messenger - $16.95

An alien with bendable legs and suction cup feet that can play back 10 seconds of recording audio when friends approach, using a motion detector built into the eye of the beast.

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/echobot-voice-messenger.html

RC Car Kits - Pictured: 2011 EU Rubber-Spec Competition 1/10 Electric Touring Car - $479.99

Hot wheels? Pffft. We’re builders, and as a kid, building probably doesn’t get much more complex than this. Swap out anything: shocks, brake calipers, engines, wheels. With model cars like the one pictured here, you get the chance to build your rig from the ground up and test its performance on a micro track.

Amainhobbies.com

Weird Slime Lab - $16.95

Sure, it’s fun creating invisible jellyfish, leeches and frogs with a slime lab. But this particular gooey laboratory actually teaches kids about the properties of many essential elements, polymers and hydration crystals. What’s more, each lesson builds off of the previous one!

www.scientificsonline.com/weird-slime-lab.html

Snap Circuits 300 Electronics Learning Kit - $59.95

Now we’re talkin’! Teach your kid how to snap and solder circuits together without the potential negative outcome (i.e. death by electrocution, burned down house, etc). The kit allows you to build circuits based on a schematic then wire it as if it were the real thing!

http://www.hobbyengineering.com/H1231.html

Brain Quest - $10.95

Another nostalgic throwback, we were pleased to find that Brain Quest is still one of the most popular educational work books for kids out there. Focused on grades 1-7 (ages 6 to about 13, respectively) these quiz games feature colorful illustrations and teach a wide range of subjects including English and science.

www.brainquest.com

Minecraft - $14.00

We don’t want to take the stand and say that kids should spend all their time playing video games—to the contrary. Besides, it’s easy to argue that you could learn how to manage your money owning various night clubs in GTA: IV—but Minecraft teaches that patience and a hard work ethic could potentially create something original and beautiful. And nobody gets their heads blown off.

www.minecraft.net

I-Sight, Mini Task Light - $12.95

Don’t you hate being told to go to bed when you’re in the middle of constructing your latest LEGO masterpiece? The I-sight, which is a wireless ear piece that shoots a glare free beam straight ahead, could allow you to continue building in peace, long after the lights go out.

http://www.x-tremegeek.com/i-sight-mini-task-light-on-your-ear.html

iPod Touch - Price depends on app

Including the iTouch in our list of kid gadgets forced us to wonder aloud: “why isn’t there an MP3 player running Android?” Regardless, the iTouch gives you access to the iTunes App store, and the App store gives you access to a metric ton of kid-friendly apps, like the “Best of Dr. Seuss” app, which has more than enough material for a few weeks of bedtime reading.

www.ikidapps.com

Android Tablets - Price varies

With tablets now under $200.00, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them wrapped under the Christmas tree for toddlers to play with. In addition to the thousands of games in the Android marketplace, there are also a ton of educational apps to check out, like the “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” Dr. Seuss app that has kids answer simple questions while teaching them to read.

Bestkidsapps.com

Alex Super Sleuth Kit - $23.87

What do you want to do after a Batman: The Animated Series marathon? Be a detective of course! This gumshoe kit comes with a flashlight, spy glasses, magnifying glass, and can teach you how to create composite IDs and take fingerprints. Nothing wrong with utilizing powers of deduction, even as a kid!

Alex Super Sleuth Kit

Space Ship Kits - Price varies by model

Adhering once more to our maxim that children should be taught to build at an early age, there are virtually endless amounts of model star ships you can find online, from various popular space universes, and they’re almost always affordable. They come in pieces and often require paint use or decal sheets for super detailed builds.

www.starshipmodeler.biz

Gross Magic Kit - $29.95

There are plenty of magic kits out there for the young and aspiring magician, but the word “gross” certainly caught our eye, as we remember how fun it was to be outright disgusting as a kid. Magic teaches patience and practice, and using this kit to liquefy eyeballs and spawn fake cockroaches from a dust pin make this a must have for kids.

www.x-tremegeek.com/gross-magic-kit.html