Kiwi Crate Review & Coupon – Paint Pendulum!

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.

Everything in the Kiwi Crate!  We are building a paint pendulum this month!

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 featuring Steve the Kiwi and his pals, plus lots of historical and scientific information relating to the current theme.

explore! teaches kids some of the science at work behind the project.  It usually includes extension activities and some simple observational experiments to learn more about the principles underlying the project.  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 expands on the theme of the box, whether it be through 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.   Often is includes additional activities beyond the extension projects included in explore!  In this issue, however, they featured three unrelated projects designed by Family Fun Magazine.

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.  This month’s project included three phases, all part of one large project.  The Crate included instructions and materials for construction the pendulum, creating spiral art using the pendulum, and modifying the pendulum for use in a wrecking ball game.

The Family Fun projects included creating a bug observation tank,

A project about convection and fluid dynamics,

And a solar printing activity.

The instructions for the main Kiwi Crate projects are more detailed than those for the Family Fun activities, but they are still simple to follow, and they are presented in a step-by-step format with illustrations.  We like to take a team approach to our Kiwi projects — here our laborer is playing with the materials while our foreperson reads through the instructions.

The pendulum all sorted out.  Here it is modified with a large wooden bead for use in the wrecking ball game.  The Crate included several stand up targets, but the kids also went wild creating several of their own and designing their games and challenges using the pendulum.

This is the main project in action.  The pendulum was easy to fill and operate, but it was a bit tricky to release the cap from the bottom of the tube and promptly set it in motion.  I was glad we papered the area!

A few of our creations.  The kit came with red and blue paint, but it changed color a bit as it dried.  Seen above, the red turned orangey pink, the blue turned aqua, and our lavender mixture turned very dark.  We used the recommended amount of paint, and it pooled quite heavily.  The creations had to sit in place overnight before they were congealed enough to move.  The paintings were a bit sloppy, but the kids had a blast!

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 ).