SpaceMail Pal is a postcard subscription for kids ages 4-11 featuring fun facts about space. The cards are written by a PBS Kids scriptwriter and designed to be educational, collectible, and conversational.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This is a review of the $8.99/month plan, which includes 4 postcards per month. Normally these postcards would be sent out weekly to your child, but we received all 4 at once for review purposes.
The Subscription Box: SpaceMail Pal
The Cost: You can choose to receive 1, 2, or 4 postcards each month. Pricing starts at $2.99/month for one postcard, $5.49/month for two postcards, and $8.99/month for four postcards.
The Products: Postcards for kids featuring fun facts about space
Ships to: U.S. only
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SpaceMail Pal usually sends 1 postcard at a time; you can select to have 1, 2, or 4 postcards delivered each month. Each card has a photo or illustration of a topic on the front... this card is for Titan, one of Saturn's moons.
The reverse side is written as a postcard to your child, from Astronaut Neil and Robot Sally. The facts are pretty high level but were definitely interesting–I had no idea that Titan is said to be the most Earth-like world that NASA has ever found!
The postcards are sturdy but they do get sent through the mail with no special packaging. They have stamps and postal processing marks just like regular letters and mail.
Jupiter is such a cool looking planet!
I do like how the cards try to break down the concepts for kids. This card relates the Great Red Spot to a hurricane here on Earth and teaches that the clouds on Jupiter are brown, red, and yellow.
This "Did you know?" fact talks about the magnetic field on Jupiter being 20 times stronger than on Earth, which means "you'd never have to worry about your art masterpiece falling off the refrigerator." I found myself wondering whether that's hyperbole or, in fact, a real example of how an increased magnetic field would work. My son hasn't entered the "why?" phase yet, but this is definitely one place where I could see parents left wanting more information!
I was definitely fascinated by the idea of black holes as a kid, so it was cool to see this card, as well. My son knows the words "black hole" from a space themed ABC book we have, so he recognized this right away which made me laugh.
I thought this answer was a good mix of funny ("no, it's not the place you wish the broccoli on your dinner plate would go") and informative, but still very open ended for more independent learning and research.
I had no idea that all galaxies, even our own, contain a supermassive black hole!
I know there will be some dedicated fans out there happy to see Pluto represented!
This card has a lot of fun little facts, but I love this story about how a 13-year-old girl actually named Pluto! Such a cute and encouraging story for kids.
Verdict: SpaceMail Pal is definitely an affordable subscription idea for kids who are showing interest in science/space, and who love getting mail. As a parent, I wish there was just a little bit more to it, like a discussion guide or something for me. But it reminds me a lot of this subscription I had as a child that sent out animal-themed cards that you'd put into a binder to collect... and frankly, I loved that thing. If only I could remember what it was called! Not only would I get excited every month when it would arrive, but I'd re-read it constantly and would sit down and draw from the photographs, too. Those binders got a lot of use.
The recommended age range for SpaceMail Pal is 4-11 years, so no surprise that my two-year-old is too young to really engage with these beyond us just reading them together. But I can see the potential, especially if you're willing to participate in learning with them and can spend time together to go beyond just what's on the card.
What do you think of SpaceMail Pal? Do your kids love learning about space?
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