Tinker Crate Review & Coupon – Polymers

This month is all about playing with Polymers. Tinker Crate is a subscription box that inspires kids to learn about science, engineering, and technology, all while having lots of fun.  Each month, the box explores a field of study within a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) discipline.  Kids practice their problem solving skills and learn how to engage in both structured and open-ended exploration and investigation.  Most of the recent boxes have walked the tinkerers through construction of fairly complex mechanical devices.

Everything that arrives together in a single Tinker Crate – the supplies, a fold-out instruction sheet, and the Tinker Zine.  In addition to the cool stuff found in the Tinker Zine, most crates have a secondary project that builds on the primary project, extending the exploration and focusing in on the science principles demonstrated by the main project.

The kit includes all the materials needed to construct the main project.  Sometimes you need to provide some simple items from home for the second project or the additional explorations suggested in the Tinker Zine.  

The instructions and other project info are printed on a faux blueprint fold-out sheet.  Along with materials and instructions, you get some handy pointers and a troubleshooting guide. The sheet tells you everything that came in the box, some tips, and help if you can’t get it to work.  This is a well-designed and tested box — we’ve never had a project with a fatal design flaw or any frustrating, unresolved engineering issues.  Plus, there is help available if needed!

The instructions are clear and easy to follow and include both visuals and text, with lots of tips and checkpoints to make sure you’ve done everything correctly as you go.   You aren’t expected to be an expert or know all the principles behind the project coming into it — the instructions are well thought out and anticipate areas where a novice might go astray.  We can tell from the exquisite detail and thoughtfulness of the instructions that the projects and designed and tested, with lessons from testing and re-testing make their way into the instructions.

The main project is always a great hands-on activity and a great demonstration of the scientific principles featured in the box, but the Tinker Zine is where the lessons really take shape!

The Tinker Zine explains the principles behind the project.

The Zine does a great job of illustrated just how cool science can be when applied. This edition tells about the accidental invention of the Silly Putty.

The Zine goes into the science behind the project, and lets you gather data through experiments. There is a short summary after each experiment to explain why or how you end up with that outcome.  We think the Zine is really where this subscription shines–there are MANY STEM-ish boxes out there, but a lot of them are just “play with this fun stuff” and don’t really teach anything.  We all legitimately learned a bunch about polymers this month.

Messes are cool at our house as long as you clean up when you’re done.  Science is messy!

And it’s always fun to play with gooey stuff polymers:

We really love Tinker Crate, because the projects are extremely well designed, with a comprehensive and engaging STEM-grounded lesson built around the project in each box.  It is a great box for tweens, but the projects are interesting enough that mom or dad will have fun helping younger kids tackle the projects, too!  You could absolutely use this as part of a homeschool curriculum, or just to add fun to your weekend.

Visit Tinker Crate to subscribe or find out more. Use code FUNPACK to save 30% on your first box plus get a free summertime fun pack!  (or on Kiwi Crate and the KiwiCo family subscriptions Koala Crate and Doodle Crate).