Kiwi Crate Review & Coupon – Pinball Machine!

Take the arcade back to your home with this month’s theme! Kiwi Crate is a kids’ craft and activity subscription and it comes with everything you need to complete a great project or two, usually a pair of crafts that can be used as toys or playtime props.  This box is geared for ages 3-7, and the projects are always age-appropriate, though some require more parental assistance than others. Kiwi Crate is the most popular craft and activity subscription box for kids.

Through 6/30: Save 30% on your first box of any crate in the KiwiCo Family – Kiwi Crate, Koala Crate, Doodle Crate, and Tinker Crate – with code FUNPACK PLUS get a free bonus Fun Pack gift – a summer activity book, crayons, and playing cards!

Everything in the Kiwi Crate!  We are building our very own pinball machine!

Kiwi Crate includes all necessary supplies for the featured activities, plus explore! magazine.  You really need very little from home to do the crafts. Usually, you only need a pair of scissors (which is sent to you with a new subscription!), but often the pieces are pre-cut, scored, or otherwise prepared for you already.  The crate includes self-adhesive items or glue/glue dots if needed for the crafts.

An issue of explore! magazine is included in every Crate.  It is full of fun content that brings the project to life.  There is always a comic in which Steve and his pals sharing an adventure that fits this month’s theme.

explore! teaches kids some of the science at work behind the project.  This issue had encouraged them to try some simple observational experiments to learn about inertia and the transfer of energy between objects.  Our kids love to go through everything in the booklet first before starting the main project.

explore! has read, draw, learn, explore, eat, and make designated activities.  Each activity is an extension on the theme of the box, whether it be factoids, drawing activities, or recipes. For parents, the activities are also a great way to keep your child entertained while you peruse the contents of the box and take a peek at the instructions for the crafts (it only takes a peek — they are always very clear and simple)!

Every Kiwi Crate come with a unique Steve sticker — it’s like your merit badge for completing the box.

The second booklet that comes in every crate is the actual instruction booklet for the crafts.  This month included three crafts that were all part of one large project, not including the additional extension projects included in explore!  Beyond the core projects, there were also instructions for making your own marble run.

Kiwi Crate provides an inventory of all the parts and supplies in the box, plus a handy breakdown of the potential messiness and need for parental assistance for each of the main projects.

The instructions are simple and presented in a step-by-step format with illustrations.  Because the parts are pre-drilled and all fastening devices are included, pretty much anyone who can read the instructions could do the craft.

My son insisted on designing his own set-up for the pinball board.  The hole and peg system allows you to rearrange the board as often as you like, experimenting with different arrangements.

This is how not to use the launcher!  She pulled this one back way too far!

The launcher and wheels in action.  We later rearranged this to put a bumper on the far wall, forcing the ball back toward the center.  This project was particularly cool because it had both a kinetic game and a continuing design element.

Kiwi Crate is always a hit with our kids.  The complexity and subject matter of the box is good for a both preschool and grade school age kids — the activities and instructions are generally very simple, but the kit always includes some factoids and extension activities that keep our older child interested.

Visit Kiwi Crate to subscribe or to find out more about this fantastic kids’ craft subscription box! Use coupon code MS30 to save 30% on your first box of Kiwi Crate (or KiwiCo family subscriptions Tinker Crate, Koala Crate, and Doodle Crate ).