Kiwi Crate is a kids’ craft and activity subscription that comes with everything you need to complete a great project or create a fun activity set. The projects are simple, guided crafts that can be used as toys or playtime props once built. The box is geared for ages 5-8, 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!
DEAL: Use this link to save 30% on your first box of Kiwi Crate!(or KiwiCo family subscriptions Tinker Crate, Koala Crate, and Doodle Crate).
This month’s theme is Magic Show! 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 (they sent us a Kiwi Crate branded pair in our first box!), 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.
There is really a lot to look at and read – a comic, puzzles, and games – and it really extends your young one’s engagement with the Crate. Each expands on the theme of the box, whether through factoids, drawing activities, or recipes, but the variation is helpful for engaging different learning styles and interests.
Every Kiwi Crate comes with a unique Steve sticker (like your merit badge for completing the box). The first box of our annual subscription included a poster for displaying our earned stickers.
The second booklet that comes in every crate is the actual instruction booklet for the crafts, and often it includes additional activities beyond the extension projects included in explore!
Each Crate typically features three main activities – either separate projects or phases of a single, large project. The booklet includes an inventory of all the supplies included in the Crate, plus a messiness and parental involvement rating for each project.
Step-by-step instructions guide you through the project. They are clearly written and very easy to follow, pointing out potential pitfalls so you don’t go astray.
This particular Crate was more of an activity crate than it was a project crate. Most of the magic tricks involved very little set-up and were more about observing cool phenomena and showing off your tricks for friends and family.
The first mini-project was a series of tricks involving a static-charged wand and its ability to magically levitate small objects.
Here, it magically rotates a homemade compass. There were also disappearing coin and handkerchief tricks.
The second mini-project was building a lenticular picture. A couple of magic-themed pictures were included to place on the provided accordion paper.
Sheets were also included to create your own design.
The assembled picture looked quite different when viewed from either the left or right side.
The third mini-project was the construction of a magic box to use for a series of tricks. We folded the box and decorated it with the golden marker that came in the crate. We also made a false wall and a bunny insert to use in two of our tricks!
Our magic wand came in handy again, this time for a hare-raising feat!
Kids get really excited about magic, and our kids were no exception. The assembly required for this suite of tricks was very basic – it was a good thing, too, since the kids couldn’t wait to perform their tricks.
Kiwi Crate is reliably awesome! Even when addressing technical topics, the Crates are always fun and engaging. We love that the Crate is suitable for a wide age range (years 5-8 actually covers a lot of ground, educationally and developmentally) – there is enough information and complexity to immerse older kids, while the light-hearted and approachable nature of the box makes it easy to use for Kindergartners, too. Kiwi Crate is a great way to spend some entertaining and educational time with your kids.
Visit Kiwi Crate to subscribe or to find out more about this fantastic kids’ craft subscription box!
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