Atlas Crate is a monthly subscription from KiwiCo that specializes in geography and culture for children between ages 6 to 11 years old. This box is designed to spark kids’ sense of adventure and curiosity, inspiring them to see themselves as citizens of the world. Kids can see and connect with the rest of the world, helping them grow beyond their own experience as they explore the globe.
KiwiCo also offers Kiwi Crate, Koala Crate, Doodle Crate, Tinker Crate, Tadpole Crate, and Eureka Crate. Atlas Crate is a great addition to the KiwiCo family as geography and exploration is always a favorite activity!
DEAL: Save 30% on your first month with this link on any KiwiCo line, no coupon code required!
This month’s box is all about KENYA!
Upon opening, we are welcomed by the cards and pamphlets that are essential to the activities. This subscription emphasizes learning through creative play as they provide in this box everything the kids might need. It builds a sense of adventure, an appreciation of other cultures, builds a sense of global citizenship and opportunity for parents and grandparents to bond with children.
Everything in the crate!
Jambo means hi in Swahili.
Every flap of the envelope has information about the box. We are also given a beautiful surprise of trivia cards filled with fascinating facts and photos.
We are also introduced to Anya the cricket and Milo the sandpiper.
Also included in the box is the Atlas Quest, which you’ll need to fill out after exploring the country!
Atlas Crate Adventure Book
Missed our first review? You’ll get the rings in your first box, which will always start with the WORLD crate. Check out that review here!
Each month, we get a sticker that represents this month’s featured country which is Kenya. This sticker features one of the big elephants from the Kenyan wild!
We placed all the stickers we got on the Adventure Book, along with the other countries that we have already explored! There’s Kenya just beside Italy!
Wow, we already explored a lot of countries, just by looking at all the stickers we had!
The table of contents is on the edge of the page for easy reading, just like how a travel book works.
This booklet also comes with a cute illustration of the country map with fast facts and some fun drawings of Kenya’s notable events, sports, places, or products from that particular location.
Atlas Crate Activities
These pages feature the beginning of the adventures of Anya and Milo in Kenya.
Anya and Milo’s first stop is the Amboseli National Park, located in Southern Kenya. You can see almost everything in this park, from the glaciers to grasslands, lakes to lava flows, mountains to marshlands, all within 150 square miles!
The Maasai are a Nilotic group that inhabits the northern, central, and southern parts of Kenya, and northern Tanzania. Known as one of the local populations internationally, they live in the towns and villages near the game parks of the African Great Lakes, and they’re also known for their distinctive customs and dress.
The booklet also introduces us to the game Mancala, also known as a “sowing” game, as players pick up their pieces and drop them one by one into pits, like how farmers sow seeds in the ground.
Atlas Crate Recipe
This month’s featured recipe is the Vibibi, which are yummy coconut rice pancakes!
To make the delightful Vibibi, we’ll need some dry yeast, water, sugar, rice flour, cardamom, coconut milk, and vegetable oil. The recipe can make up to 6 pancakes, just follow the complete instructions that even comes with adorable and easy-to-follow illustrations!
Atlas Crate Projects
For this month’s Atlas Crate projects, we’re making Binoculars and Beaded Wristband!
Activity #1: Binoculars. For this activity, the crate provided us with binocular pieces, thin black foam, orange sticky foam, brown sticky foam, tubes, large lenses, small lenses, and yarn.
Featured at the back of this book are some facts about Africa’s big five which are the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo. These biggies are dangerous, unpredictable, and spectacular. There are also some facts about the African Fish Eagle, and the use of binoculars in seeing dangerous creatures!
Whether you live in Africa or are just visiting, if you head into the wilderness you’ll want to bring a great pair of binoculars along with you. It’s the best way to get a good look at the wildlife without disturbing them — and without risking your own safety.
Also included in this sheet are the detailed steps on how to make the binoculars and the safari animals!
Before starting with the projects, the kids read the booklet first to know more about Kenya!
After looking and checking the materials to be used, we started building the binoculars by following the steps and illustrations one by one.
After completing the binoculars, we tried if we can focus it. If not, the sheet also included tips and things to do if ever we encounter some problems.
After making the binoculars, we started making the Safari animals too! We made the big 5!
The animals look amazing and adorable!
After positioning the animals, we used the binoculars to take a look at these majestic creatures!
Activity #2: Beaded Wristband. The next project is the Beaded Wristband, that is inspired by the popular Kenyan jewelry. For this project, we used the following: strap, beads, and string!
The sheet also provided us information about how the Maasai people make their jewelry using seeds and dried grasses that are dyed in different colors.
Beads play an important role in the culture if Kenya’s native Maasai people. By putting on certain jewelry, the wearer communicates a lot about who they are, what they do, and even their age.
Of course, you can easily make the bracelet by following the step-by-step instructions coupled with illustrations!
Each color of the bead has a special meaning: red is for strength and bravery, green for health and energy, yellow for hospitality and kindness, purple for grit and determination, and turquoise for wealth and good luck.
I love how the kids made a color pattern from the beads! It looks awesome!
That great attention to detail, specifically the colors made the bracelet look gorgeous, and it actually looks like a rainbow!
The band fits perfectly on the kids’ wrists! I bet we can make another one like this as the materials used are actually easy to find! It was a great way to learn about how Masaai-crafted bracelets from Kenya are made!
Kenya is really fun and we learned a lot through this box!
The country we visited this month, Kenya, is not just known for its great wildlife, but also for its fantastic people that have amazing culture! We love that the Maasai are creative and amazing people. How they live their lives is really interesting. Also, finding more information about the big five animals in Kenya made us well aware of their importance in the circle of life. The projects are both interesting, and we all had fun making and using them. My kids loved their own binoculars, and the bracelet is a hit as well. We’re excited about the next country we will be visiting in the next box!
What do you think of KiwiCo’s Atlas Crate?
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