MEL Kids is a subscription box for children ages 5-10 that delivers a hands-on science experiment to your door each month along with an AR (augmented reality)-powered lesson to accompany it which is accessible from their app.
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 MEL Kids
The Subscription Box: MEL Kids
The Cost: $34.90 per month
The Products: A science-themed project and an AR lesson to go along with it, accessible through the app.
Ships to: The U.S. for free (shipping may open up to other areas in the future)
MEL Kids "Gyroscope" Review December 2020
On the back of the sleeve for our box was a contents list and a quick description of our product.
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Mystery Planet Map
In your first box, you will receive this Mystery Planet Map. It is a nice large, colorful map on some heavier stock paper and it is very detailed and fun! There are transparent rectangles located throughout the map which provide a spot for us to add stickers as we complete different projects each month.
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Inside our box was this booklet which contained all of the information we needed. The first page contained a list of the contents along with pictures. The next few pages began our comic story which would lead us to our project. This is such a creative way to get kids engaged in their learning! The directions feature large colorful illustrations and numbered steps making it easy for kids to follow along and there are some bonus activities in the back.
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The smaller pieces came neatly organized inside of these boxes making it easy to find everything. They included everything that we needed to make our gyroscope.
They even provided four different gyroscope disk covers for us.
1 of 5 | My daughter began assembling the gyroscope.
1 of 4 | It was starting to come together!
To operate, she simply pulled the string swiftly and it turned and then wound itself back up.
It worked really well once we got the hang of it!
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Next, she assembled the handle to test our gyroscope out another way. While I like that they are providing us with another way to do it, they didn't really provide any other information besides the illustrated instructions. I would have really appreciated a little bit of an explanation.
While she worked on that I took the main piece out of the frame and then rewrapped it this time leaving the string end loose.
This time we held it still with the handle while we pulled the string.
This time it wound all over the table like a large top!
We then replaced the gyroscope cover with this fun black and white swirl and it was a really cool effect.
We had some fun testing out the different disk covers and seeing the effects. They also suggested adding different colors to the white backs to do some fun color-mixing experiments. We are excited to see how that goes!
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With this project completed, it was time to add our sticker to our map! My daughter loves the challenge of locating the sticker on the map.
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When we were done playing with our gyroscope, we moved onto the fun Sudoku, drawing, and truffle hunt activities they included. My daughter always really enjoys these and they are perfect for her age level and provide just the right amount of a challenge for her!
The last thing we did was check out the AR (augmented reality) portion of our project. We just scanned this little card with our MEL Kids app.
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This portion of the project is so unique and always very educational! They show you exactly how your project works and what happens, making sure to explain it in scientific terms. It is interactive and provides a great visual for kids to engage with.
Verdict: This month's MEL Kids project was pretty fun and I know that my daughter and I are both excited at the prospect of making our own gyroscope disk designs to see what happens when we test them out! I loved how well organized this was and I appreciated the extras like the activities in the book and the VR app portion of the project, but I'm not quite so sure how I feel about the value overall. This box used to cost $24.90, which I definitely think this meets, but the cost has increased to $34.90 which is quite a bit more and at that price, I feel like we needed just a bit more. What do you think?
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes, this box is still available. From MEL Kids:
"Your first package will arrive within 2 weeks of registration. Subsequent monthly packages will be delivered within 2 weeks of each monthly charge."
Check out our other MEL Kids reviews and our list of the best subscription boxes for kids, as recommended by MSA readers!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add MEL Kids to your subscription list or wishlist!
What do you think of MEL Kids?
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