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.
FYI! This box is featured in our Returning to Learning back-to-school guide. Take a look at our subscription recommendations to see how they can help make your life easier during this unique school year.
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 August 2020 "Indonesia" Review
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This month we are traveling to Indonesia and we received this airmail envelope full 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 Indonesia. We learned about their rice fields, Lake Toba, and about a giant flower that smells like rotten meat. Yuck! The kids enjoyed learning about these fun facts though!
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They always include some "do" pages and this month we have a recipe for Pasang Bakar, which are grilled bananas, and some directions for Tari Piring, which is a dance done while balancing plates.
Activity #1: Komodo Dragon
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My son was excited to make his own Komodo dragon this month. He loved learning more about this creature, which is already one of his favorites!
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The first step was to add some foam pieces to the body in the marked areas.
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Then we added some adhesive pieces and folded in the body before adding another foam piece to hold that in place.
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Next, we used more adhesive to add the bottom of his mouth complete with the tongue sticking out.
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Then we turned it over and set the motor into the slots on the bottom and secured it with a long foam strip.
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Then he added the green foam circle to the center of the brown wheel and we stuck the dowel through the body and the wheel to hold it in place.
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The last step was to add the little feet to the ends.
Here is our finished Komodo dragon. Now it was time to see him race!
We pulled him back and let him go. He can actually go pretty far with just the slightest pull back. All of my kids loved playing with this guy!
Activity #2: Batik Bag
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While my son was happy with the Komodo dragon project, this next one was right up my daughter's alley! She got to make her own little batik bag. They included all of the supplies we needed!
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The bag is a cute little tote which had nine little boxes marked off on the front for us.
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The first thing she had to do was make her little stampers. They provided four cardboard pieces along with some foam pieces to assemble. The square foams got placed on the back as handles and then there were four different designs.
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Once the stamps were assembled, we slid the wax paper sheet into our bag to keep the glue from going through to the back side. Then she added half of the glue bottle to the little plate they provided.
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Then she got to work stamping the glue onto her bag to create her design. We had to set it aside to dry for 2 to 3 hours.
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Once the glue was dry, the next step was to mix the red paint with some water and then cover the front of our bag in paint. They gave us some tips on how to make our designs even brighter by dabbing the paint off of the glue. Then it was time to set the bag aside to dry overnight.
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In the morning we removed the wax paper from inside and our bag was finished! How cute! We got a little bit on the back, but I admit, we weren't very careful during the painting process and may have spilled a bit when the two-year-old tried to help! Overall, though, this batik process was much more simple than others we have done in the past, which I appreciated!
Verdict: Atlas Crate is such a fun subscription and it feels like its the perfect box for my 4-year-old son and (almost) 6-year-old daughter to share! The two activities are usually very different from one another and I have found it pretty easy to do one project with my son while my daughter works somewhat independently and then we can all enjoy the information about the country together. The boxes are educational, fun, and well-organized which makes it so easy to enjoy!
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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