Atlas Crate is a subscription box for kids from parent company KiwiCo. This box is designed to spark the curiosity and sense of adventure in children ages 6-11 and help them become citizens of the world. Each month Atlas Crate will deliver materials and instructions to provide hands-on experiences to help kids develop their sense of cultural awareness.
KiwiCo offers boxes for different age groups:
- Panda Crate for 0-24-month-olds,
- Koala Crate for 2-4-year-olds,
- Kiwi Crate for 5-8-year-olds,
- Atlas Crate for 6-11-year-olds,
- Doodle Crate and Tinker Crate for 9-16+-year-olds,
- Eureka Crate and Maker Crate for ages 14 and up.
There really is something for every age with this company!
This review is of the $19.95/month Atlas Crate box, for 6-11-year-olds.
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).
About Atlas Crate
The Subscription Box: Atlas Crate
The Cost: $19.95 per month + free shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: Crafts and DIY projects for kids, with supplemental learning kits, booklets, and activities. Crates are filled with materials and inspiration to encourage creativity and curiosity about the world.
Ships to: The U.S. for free, Canada for $3.95 per month, and worldwide from $4.95-$6.95
Atlas Crate May 2020 "Egypt" Review
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Our country this month is Egypt and inside this cute airmail envelope is a ton of information. On the bottom of the envelope, there is a list of what is included in our crate and a fun Atlas Quest to complete using our newfound knowledge after exploring this month's country.
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In our first box, which was based on the world, we received an Adventure Book that contained cards for each of the continents and we are able to add to it each month as we receive cards for each of the new countries. They also provide a sticker for us to add to it as well which is a fun way to track our travels! Everything in this box is incredibly organized and nicely packaged making it easy to locate it all.
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The cards for our adventure book are bright, vibrant, and full of tons of information about Egypt on either side. Of course, we had to explore the Nile River and the Sphinx!
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While most of the pages contain information for us to read, there are always a few "do" pages that provide instructions on activities related to the country. Here we have a recipe for some date balls which I can't wait to make and a fun activity that involves mummifying some apples. It's a little strange, but we are looking forward to trying it!
The kids are always excited to explore a new country!
Activity #1: Royal Headdress
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Our first activity was to make a royal headdress fit for a pharaoh. They provided some interesting facts about King Tut and the various parts of a pharaoh's royal outfit.
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Our directions were clear and detailed on the inside of our information booklet. They provided this blue felt piece and some shiny gold stickers to use.
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My son and I worked together to place the gold stickers onto the headdress. I realized at the next step that we were supposed to place the side ones up a little higher, but it didn't make too much of a difference in the end.
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After getting the front pieces on I folded the top over and then slipped the longer felt strips through the small slits to hold it in place. Then my son worked to get the gold stickers placed along the side of the headdress. I had to trim them for him once he had them all on.
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Once that was finished it was time to add our royal neme, which was a snake head. This part of the process was really cool! They provided these two snake head pieces and three different metallic sheets.
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We would peel off the backing from the snake sticker, place the metallic color we wanted on top, and then rub and press before removing to reveal the transferred color. Such a fun and unique process!
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They looked really cool when we were done!
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To attach the snake head, I threaded the pipe cleaner through the front slit of our headdress and then folded it in half and twisted it together.
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Then I placed the shorter piece on the back of the pipe cleaners and sandwiched them between that and the longer snake piece and folded it over to make it look more realistic.
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I attached the velcro piece to the end of the strips on the headdress and then used that to secure it around my son's head.
It turned out pretty cute! Although, the stickers aren't as heavy-duty as I would have liked and I'm afraid they might not last long and will peel up over time. The kids had fun wearing it!
Activity #2: Water Clock
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Our next project was to make a water clock which is a way that ancient Egyptians used to keep time. They talked about how a water clock was a great way to keep time at night since other methods required the sun in order to work.
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The directions for this were also easy to follow and separated into sections for us.
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The first step was to build the base with these wooden pieces and rubber rings.
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First, my daughter stuck the foam stickers onto the legs and slid them together.
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Then she added the round top where our cup would sit and held that in place with the O-rings.
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Next, she stuck the little foam circle into the cup that had a hole in the side of it. Then she stuck the straw inside of that so that it was sticking out slightly.
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They provided a packet of air-dry clay and a mat to work on to form our clock.
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She kneaded the clay to get the air bubbles out and then started to form small pancakes with the clay.
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Then she began adding pancakes to the side of the cup and smoothing them together to cover it. She rolled the cup to get it as smooth as she could.
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I used the edge of the paintbrush they provided to score it and create two sections on the cup. Then my daughter used the hieroglyphs they shared in the directions to add some of her own designs with the paint. I think this is the symbol for water!
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Once that was dry I folded the straw in half and held it in place with the binder clip and set it on top of the stand.
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Then my daughter added water to our cup and placed the second cup underneath the straw.
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We released the clip and the water flowed right through into our cup! Then we used a timer and marked it in increments of 15 seconds until we got to 60 to turn it into a 1-minute timer. This was a neat and educational activity!
Verdict: I was excited to explore Egypt with my kids this month through this Atlas Crate box, although I feel like it would be more aptly titled "Ancient Egypt" since the activities both revolved around the history of Egypt. I was looking forward to exploring some more modern Egyptian culture, but the kids still seemed to enjoy the activities! The water clock was a cool project and while the headdress was fun and involved a cool technique, I'm afraid it might not last too long with those stickers. So overall, this probably wasn't my favorite box, but we enjoyed the actual activities and I love how well organized and educational this box is.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? From KiwiCo:
Crates are assigned each month based on availability and your crate history - not all subscribers receive the same theme each month.
Check out more of our Atlas Crate reviews, all of our KiwiCo reviews, and the best subscription boxes for kids!
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