Green Kid Crafts is a kids subscription box company that sends you up to six science and art kits each month for $29.95 (with free U.S. shipping).
Green Kid Crafts strives to encourage the growth of the "whole child," which includes fostering a sense of care for our environment. Their process and products seek to have a minimal environmental impact, and the activities in each box aim to help kids engage with nature in creative ways. It's not surprising that Green Kid Crafts was actually founded by an environmental scientist! The thoughtful approach makes this box one of our favorite kids' art subscriptions.
FYI, COVID-19 Update: From Green Kid Crafts:
Thanks to our customer and community support, we have grown! We are excited to have recently shipped out our 1.5 millionth box!
While our production is on track, we are still experiencing some shipping delays as carriers face strain and high volumes due to COVID.
Green Kid Crafts is a small mom-owned, parent-run business committed to providing a high level of service.
Thank you for supporting our small business and our mission to empower the next generation of environmental leaders!
For more ways to keep your kiddos educationally engaged during these times, check out our Returning to Learning back-to-school guide to see how subscriptions can help make your life easier as you navigate this unique school year.
Choose between the Junior Discovery Box (ages 2-4) or the Discovery Box (ages 5-10+), both of which are $29.95/month. Green Kid Crafts also offers a Sibling Discovery Box (ages 2-10+) for $49.95/month, which sends two of each project. All subscriptions include free shipping.
This is a review of the Discovery Box for ages 5-10+, which costs $29.95/month + free shipping.
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 Green Kid Crafts Discovery Box
The Subscription Box: Green Kid Crafts Discovery Box
The Cost: $29.95 per month + free shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: Materials and instructions for up to 6 science and art projects aimed at helping children ages 5-10+ get creative and engage with nature.
Ships to: The U.S. for free, to Canada and select countries for a flat rate of $6.50/month
Green Kid Crafts "Ocean Science" November 2020 Box Review
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Each month we receive a beautifully illustrated pamphlet that is jam-packed with information and instructions for all of the included projects. Our theme this month was "Ocean Science" so it specifically included introduction info, 6 activities, a coloring sheet, career info, and some ocean book suggestions. The back of the pamphlet includes their social media hashtags, along with a blurb about Penny Bauder, who is the founder of Green Kid Crafts.
I love watching Hank and Charlie dive into the pamphlet and eagerly read about the month's topic. Seeing them work together is really heartwarming as a mother, and I hope it never stops!
This month we received an "Ocean Expert" badge for when we completed the box. I don't know what it is about stickers, but we adore them. Especially when they are as cute as this one is.
Project 1: Coral Reef Paintings
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Our first project this month contained all of the necessary supplies to create a coral reef painting. These supplies included paper, paint, cups, and straws. Along with our project instructions we also received a little background information. Did you know that coral reefs are home to about 25% of all marine life? My kids were so intrigued about coral reefs after reading the bonus material that we had to look up a National Geographic video about the Great Barrier Reef on YouTube – it was a learning experience for the entire family!
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To create the coral reef paintings, we first used a pencil to mark the edge of the ocean floor on our paper with a pencil. Mixing the paint with water, we created a thinner substance that was easy to blow around. Using the straw, we dipped one end into the paint, dabbed it onto the paper, and blew on it, creating fun designs that resembled coral. While I don't necessarily think our postcards turned out to look like a coral reef, I can say the kids had a really fun time, and they couldn't wait to send them to their friends that they've been missing while distance learning!
Project 2: Motion Ocean
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For our second project. we received a bottle with oil in it, a blue color tab, seashells, and balloons to create a motion ocean.
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This was one fun and easy project! All we had to do was add water to our bottle along with the shells, our water balloon fish, and the color tab. I then hot glued the cover on (for security) and let it dry. Charlie loved tilting this bottle back and forth and watching the ocean come to life. Seeing the fish float from side to side with the shells kept him entertained for a surprising amount of time, and learning how waves are formed in the "things to think about section" of the booklet really caught my guy's attention. This is exactly why I love STEAM activities so much!
Project 3: Oil Spill Science
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Our third experiment was probably the most educational one of them all. We received a packet of cocoa mix, feathers, a cotton ball, and fabric to demonstrate which item is most helpful in aiding animals that are the victims of oil spills.
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Like I said above, I felt this experiment was the most educational. To do it, we mixed our cocoa powder with oil and coated our feathers in the sludgy-looking substance. Once they were coated we tried cleaning them in plain water, and then in dish soap-infused water. We also tried using cloth and cotton balls. It was so cool to see the oil get wiped right off with the dish soap. The kids have asked in the past why ducklings are present on the "Dawn" dish soap bottle and never understood when I tried explaining it to them, so now they really got it. The difference in weight between the oiled feather and the dry feather was substantial and really validated why a bird with oiled feathers is unable to fly.
Project #4: Sea Life Rescue
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For our sea life rescue game we received felt, a washer, a pencil, elastic, and fish stickers. This brought out my kids' creative side, and they spent a lot longer on this activity than I thought they would, which was really fun to watch!
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To create this "game" we designed our own fish out of the included felt. Adding eyeball stickers, we made the fish come to life. We also received the tip to use a fork to "tease" up the felt for an easier catch. When we cut out our fish, Hank decided to add felt coral to the side of his box and color the bottom blue like the ocean. Charlie stuck on the fish stickers, and we made up the fishing pole with the pencil and washer. Once these steps were completed, we went fishing. The Velcro caught the fish and we were able to learn about "bycatch." All three of us found it interesting that some fishermen are required to install devices in their nets that have openings at the top or bottom that allow sea turtles and larger creatures to escape. Also, other fishermen are required to attach "pingers" to their nets. Pingers broadcast sounds or "pings" that stop porpoises and dolphins from getting close. Interesting!
Project #5: Glowing Jellyfish
To create our glowing jellyfish we received three glow sticks with connectors and large bags.
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Each time we head to the dollar store, my boys have a hard time passing up the glow sticks, and after discovering this cool craft, they ask me to buy more every time we go. For our glowing jellyfish, we cracked up our glow sticks, added the connector to create a circle, and put it into a little zip lock baggie filled with water. Once that was sealed, we added it to a produce bag and tied it shut. Cutting the bag to create "tentacles" we were left with a jellyfish-like creature! The kids of course had to turn off every light in our house to check these out, and they even brought them into the bathtub! Easy and fun, just the way I like our crafts.
Project #6: DIY Ice Boats
Our last project just gave directions, without actually sending supplies. We used square containers to add water and freeze into boats with straw masts. We made it through step 3, but sadly my husband opened the freezer without realizing these were in there and accidentally dumped all of the water out. We decided to try this again another day, as it looks really fun, and Hank and Charlie were really interested to see if these would actually float. Whoops!
Verdict: This month's Green Kid Crafts was awesome! The thoughtfulness of the crafts and experiments was really well put together, and included awesome information that was educational and fun. This particular month the kids were drawn to every single project and enjoyed them all. The fact that almost all of the supplies were included (except for project #6) made this a great after school project, without being too much work for mama. I appreciate the STEAM involvement and look forward to this box every month. I can't wait to see what next month's theme might be!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Here's what Green Kid Crafts says:
The first box of all subscription orders will ship immediately, through the 25th of the month. After the 25th, the initial box will ship with the following month’s mid-month shipment. After the first month, subsequent boxes will ship around the middle of the month.
Check out all of our Green Kid Crafts reviews and the best kid subscription boxes for more kids' activities!
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