Tinker Crate Review & Coupon – CAMERA OBSCURA

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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 CAMERA OBSCURA!

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 camera.

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.

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

The Tinker Zine does a great job of explaining the technology and introducing it in a way that is interesting for kids.

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.

This historical background section for this particular project was especially interesting.

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.

My eight year old daughter tackled this project unassisted.

She cruised through fairly quickly. There was only one section where she was confused for a moment. After looking closely at the instructions, she realized that she had grabbed the wrong piece at first, and the depiction in the instructions provided sufficient detail to distinguish it. The detailed and well though out instructions solve any dilemma if you look closely at them.

The camera is constructed with a slider on either side that allows the lens to be focused by lengthening or shortening the main chamber of the camera.

An actual image of our pendant light, as viewed through the camera obscura. It works best with a brightly illuminated subject.

The camera was a fun build and relatively simple to construct for such a precision device. It worked very well in good lighting and was an awesome way to explore some of the principles of optics.

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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  • Rose Marie Carroll
    07.05.17

    We got a year subscription for our grandson last year – and he made it known WAY before his next birthday that he wants the SAME thing! Please let us know how to get him another year. His birthday is coming up at the end of August…. so….

    • Brandy
      07.05.17

      Hi Rose – you will get an email from Kiwi Crate asking if you want to give another gift. If you happened to not set it up as a gift and just as a regular subscription, it will automatically renew. You can log into your kiwi crate account to check it out. And yes, it’s such a great gift!!