5 of the Best LEGO Sets for 6-Year-Old Kids 2024
If there’s one toy I’ve never regretted spending money on, it’s LEGO. In terms of bang for your buck, you can’t go past those little colored bricks for value. LEGO sets bring it all – educational benefits, imagination and creativity, durability, and most importantly, fun!
We have plastic crates full of LEGO bricks at our house and every set has kept little hands busy for hours. And of course, the best bit about LEGO is once you’ve built the set you can pull it all apart and build something completely different.
LEGO sets are perfect for developing STEM skills, so if you have a little builder, engineer, or architect on your hands, you need to get on board. LEGO is usually designed with an age bracket in mind. Should we pick out of this list of the best LEGO sets for 6-year-old kids, we’ll go with the LEGO City Mars Research Shuttle. With its Mars Rover and helidrone, this set will impress your young astronauts!
Related post: Best LEGO Sets for Girls
Our Top Picks in LEGO Sets for Six-Year-Olds 2024
IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
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Best overall LEGO City Mars Research Shuttle
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Best for Technical Builders LEGO Technic Cherry Picker
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Budget Option LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck
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1. Best Overall — LEGO City Mars Research Shuttle
LEGO City Mars Research Shuttle
Take a trip to Mars with this impressive set that’s perfect for little astronauts.
Once assembled, this set is perfect for active play! The LEGO City Mars Research Shuttle will delight your little astronauts as they explore new worlds. As well as the space shuttle, there’s a Mars Rover, a helidrone and a storage drone. It’s often the little details that make LEGO sets special, like the Mars scenery, build with secret symbols (use the scanner on the helidrone to decipher the code!).
The space shuttle comes with two astronaut mini-figures to take charge of the cockpit and the shuttle’s opening bay doors provide a little home for the drones.
The NASA-inspired Mars Rover is impressive with its articulated grappling arm and tilted solar panels. Kids will love using the rover to retrieve geodes before flying them back to the shuttle with the drone.
As always, the instructions are perfect for kids and this set has Instructions PLUS available in the LEGO Life app for smartphones and tablets. Your little LEGO builders can zoom, rotate and visualize their creation using the special ghost mode as they go.
I think this set is a great size with 273 pieces included – not too complicated, but enough to keep them busy for a while!
2. Best for Technical Builders — LEGO Technic Cherry Picker
LEGO Technic Cherry Picker
A great starter set that’s a bit more challenging than regular LEGO.
The LEGO Technic range is often more advanced than regular LEGO and would usually be too challenging for kids, but the LEGO Technic Cherry Picker is a great choice for little builders though and the perfect way to learn more about engineering principles like gears, forces, and movement.
If your LEGO fan is after something a bit more complex but is still quite young, this would be an ideal start to the world of Technic. Builders will enjoy the extra thrill of things like lights and gears but will still have a cool toy to play with once assembled.
The LEGO Technic Cherry Picker is an operating model and the lifelike functions are very cool. Features like the lifting mechanism, working boom, hazard lights, and warning beacons are appealing and the finished vehicle feels very solid and up to a bit of real-life vehicle play.
It’s a two-in-one set so it can be rebuilt into a tow truck when you’re tired of cherry-picking (instructions for the tow truck must be downloaded though)!
Technic sets don’t use regular LEGO bricks and while construction is still quite simple, younger kids might need a bit of adult assistance when they’re putting it together.
3. Best Budget Option — LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck
LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck
A must-have for any LEGO collection with features kids will love.
If you only ever get one LEGO set it has to be a fire truck! They’re a must-have for every six-year-olds plus the fact that LEGO fire trucks never disappoint. The LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck is a great set for this age group. With 214 pieces it’s enough to be a challenge but not complicated enough for them to lose interest.
As with most LEGO sets, this fire truck is fun to assemble, but also fun to play with when construction is complete. There are lots of opportunities for imaginative play and if you use it with other LEGO sets you can have your little fire fighting mini-figures putting out flames all over town!
The showpiece of this LEGO set is the extending fire fighting ladder on the back of the truck. It extends up so your firefighters can get right above the blaze (an oil can with orange flames is included) and it spins around 360 degrees so your minifigs (two are included in full protective gear) will be able to reach any tight spot.
Kids will really enjoy the pull-out firehouse with a very cool stud shooter function. A little blue LEGO piece acts as a water droplet so they can get on top of any fires ASAP!
4. Best for Free Play — LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box
LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box
Let their imagination run wild with a set that encourages creativity.
There’s a lot to be said for your standard or thematic (such as Star Wars!) LEGO sets with their clear instructions and pre-determined end product. Children learn to follow steps, interpret instructions, and follow a plan. It’s also great to let them use their own imagination though, as they get creative and come up with their own designs.
That’s where the LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box is a winner. There are different types of creative boxes available with various themes and numbers of pieces. The basic idea is the same though – give them all the bricks they could ever want and let your kids come up with something amazing!
This brick box has 790 pieces from base plates to windows and doors, wheels, tires and just about every type of brick they could imagine. The set does include some building ideas to get them started, but it encourages kids to come up with their own ideas and designs.
Parents will love that the box it comes in acts as a storage container so there’s a chance that kids will keep their LEGO off the floor (who are we kidding?). This is the ultimate set for letting creative minds run wild. Have fun!
5. Best for Dino Lovers — LEGO Creator Mighty Dinosaurs
LEGO Creator Mighty Dinosaurs
A fun option for kids who love building and dinosaurs!
There are two things 6-year-old kids love more than anything else: LEGO and dinosaurs. Why not combine their two passions with the LEGO Creator Mighty Dinosaurs set? Your kids will love making the T-Rex with its poseable joints, bendy tail, big claws, and wide-opening jaw with huge teeth (a buildable rib cage is included for your T-Rex’s lunch).
It’s a three-in-one set so your little palaeontologists can also create a triceratops or a pterodactyl (only one at a time, of course, but pulling LEGO apart and rebuilding is always part of the fun). The triceratops and pterodactyl have some movement too, so kids can change their new pet whenever they like!
The dinosaurs are not complicated to build but your child may need some assistance with assembly depending on their age and ability level.
As always, LEGO instructions are clear and easy to understand and rely more on pictures than words. Once assembled, the dinosaurs are quite sturdy and suitable to play with, rather than just putting them on display. I really like this LEGO set and I think most six-year-olds would love it, too!
What to Consider When Buying a 6 Year Old Child a New LEGO Set
Age and Skill Level
There are a huge number of LEGO sets on the market, but you really need to consider the age and skill level of the builder before making your purchase. LEGO has sets catering for very young builders right up to adult LEGO fans. If you select a set that is too challenging, your child will lose interest very fast. Likewise, if the set is far too easy they’ll get bored pretty quick!
Each LEGO box has a target age range on the box so use that as your guide. Don’t expect very young children to be able to assemble a LEGO set completely on their own though. There’s nothing wrong with parents joining in and making the project a collaborative effort.
Interests
LEGOs are always amazing at coming up with sets in a range of themes from space and pirates to superheroes and police stations. There are ocean-themed sets, jungle animals and every type of transport you could imagine. Whatever your child is into, there will be a LEGO set they’ll love.
If you choose a set catering for your child’s particular interests they’ll be keen to assemble it and have more fun playing with the finished product. Think about what your kids are passionate about and have a look online to see what LEGO has available. You’ll be spoilt for choice!
Budget
LEGO sets vary a lot in their complexity and this is reflected in their price. Once you know your child is a big LEGO fan you might be happy to spend a bit of cash, knowing they’ll get their money’s worth. But if your child is just starting out with LEGO you might want to buy a smaller set first to gauge their interest. Maybe buy a single space shuttle first before you purchase the whole launch control set!
The great thing about LEGO is their sets are compatible with each other. If you buy a single aeroplane now, it will fit right in with the passenger terminal you get down the track.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LEGO a good STEM toy?
Absolutely, it’s one of the best! When it comes to learning about engineering, building, and construction you can’t get much better than LEGO. Kids will learn about areas of science like force and motion and maths usually tied up in every LEGO set there is.
If technology is what you’re after, LEGO Technic sets are a great way to incorporate this into their play. Key STEM skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and design are all a big part of what makes LEGO fun.
What are the benefits of playing with LEGO?
There are so many! Your kids will develop everything from fine motor skills to problem-solving techniques. They’ll need to focus when they’re assembling a set and have the patience to get to the finished product.
They’ll learn to follow instructions and organize their materials. If they’re building a set on their own they’ll develop independent play skills and if they’re working with someone else they’ll learn to work as part of a team. And of course, creativity. LEGO is brilliant for letting kids be imaginative with their designs.
What age should kids play with LEGO?
The short answer is every age! LEGO is designed for kids starting from about three years old! LEGO Duplo is perfect for very little hands and the LEGO Juniors range targets kids aged 4-8 years. From there, there are sets targeting every age group up to adults (many grown-ups are big LEGO fans!).
Be guided not just by your child’s age, but also their skill level. As they get more experienced and confident they can try some of the more challenging LEGO sets.
Last update on 2024-11-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API