Tinker Crate Review & Coupon – Air Cannon

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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 boxes walk the tinkerers through the construction of fairly complex mechanical devices. 

This month’s theme is Air Cannon!

Everything arrives together in a single Tinker Crate – the supplies, a fold-out instruction sheet, and the Tinker Zine.

DEALUse this link to save 30% on your first box of Tinker Crate! (or Kiwi Crate and the KiwiCo family subscriptions Koala Crate and Doodle Crate).

The kit includes all the materials needed to construct the cannon, plus a rack of targets and game sheet!

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 full of well-written, historically and scientifically accurate background and explanatory materials. This where the lessons really take shape!

The instructions and other project info are printed on a faux blueprint fold-out sheet.

One side of the sheet has pointers for using your newly-constructed device, plus an inventory of all the supplies provided in the Crate.

The other side contains highly-detailed illustrated instructions with lots of explanatory blurbs, close-ups of technical areas, and arrows to show where parts are to be placed.

The instructions are very detailed, with enough information provided at every step that you never have to guess what to do next. The Crate included three different chipboard rings for the nozzle of the cannon, letting us adjust the strength of the air blast.

They include checkpoints to verify that assembly is going properly, plus, there is help available if needed!

This Tinker Zine is all about vortices, the phenomena that makes our air cannon work.

Our kids always read the Tinker Zine completely before tackling the project. The combination of age-appropriate support materials and a cool hands-on project really makes for engaged learners! They do a great job of keeping it light and fun, too!

The Zine’s articles are very in depth, and they use accurate scientific terminology to describe the explored phenomena, yet it’s really well suited to the target age. The pedagogical approach is great for a variety of learners – historical examples are used to illustrate the scientific principles in action, and there is always a balance of text, pictures, diagrams, and hands-on activities.

In addition to the cool stuff found in the Tinker Zine, most crates have a secondary project or extension activities that build on the primary project, extending the exploration and focusing in on the science principles demonstrated by 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.

Several games were suggested for practicing our aim with the cannon.

A scorecard with pre-printed game blocks helped us keep track of the score.

The card had room for recording scores for four different games, and it worked with the included dry erase marker for repeated reuse.

The kids had a great time setting up the targets and shooting them down with the cannon.

The cannon worked from several feet away and the kids experimented with scooting right up to the target, making the hole on the cannon larger and smaller, etc.

Our Crate included a smoke cone and holder so we could see our air cannon in action. After holding the cannon over the cone to fill with smoke, we were able to see visible smoke rings when we fired it!

It turns out that it’s nearly impossible to photograph – perhaps you can see the wisps of smoke? Our son was particularly interested in this activity!

Tinker Crate is always a good time. It has a great balance of learning, building, and playing – you never build a static model, and there is always some tinkering, experimentation, or other use of the project once it is built. Tinker Crate’s projects and supporting materials make complex scientific and engineering principles easy for kids to understand and see in action. It is a superb activity for evenings, weekends, and school vacations, as it’s always fun and keeps kids mentally engaged and using their brains.

Have you tried Tinker Crate yet with your kids?

Visit Tinker Crate to subscribe or find out more!

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