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
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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 featured our comic story introducing 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. In the back, there were some fun bonus activities like a game, some paper racers to cut out and a "count your way" activity that my daughter and I enjoyed working on together.
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Everything came packaged neatly for us with the smaller components tucked inside this box. Other small pieces were enclosed in plastic bags.
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The main pieces for our boat were made of sturdy wood with notches that fit together and plenty of holes and smaller pieces for easy assembly.
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We also received some string, a spring, some smaller wooden pieces, several plastic pieces, and a few tiny rubber bands.
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The first step was to prepare the frame of our racer including the little seat. After checking out the directions, my daughter was able to connect the two sides by placing the wooden pieces in the holes and notches already marked in the wood. I love that the directions are so large and easy for my daughter to follow on her own.
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Next, it was time to add the wheels. Smaller wheels in the front with the larger ones at the back.
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Then, it was time to create the spring piece by fitting the spring into the center of one of the wooden pieces and then adding the long dowel with some smaller pieces to hold it into place. Then this got hooked into the front of our car.
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They provided two different body styles for our car. My daughter folded one and then wrapped it around the body and secured it with the plastic pegs.
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Next, we added the string to the end of the dowel which would get wrapped around our wheels.
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Wrapping it around the wheels was a bit tricky so I did have to assist her a little with this part until she got the hang of it.
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The last step before we were ready to race was to create our endpoint by folding up these pieces into triangles.
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Our racer was ready to go!
This was our first time racing it, so it didn't quite go as planned, but it worked! To get it to go, we simply slid the dowel out from under the little notch in the seat to release it.
She was a little bummed that it didn't work as well as she had hoped, but in our booklet, there was a section that clearly explained all about friction and tires. There was also a section for us to record our results by trying our car on different surfaces and even some ideas for what to wrap our wheels with to gain more friction. While we haven't gotten to the wheel experiments yet, she has already started brainstorming what she will use! Instead, we took some time to test out some different surfaces. First up was the carpet!
You can see how much better our car worked when we tested it out on our rug!
The last place she tested out was a big thick blanket which we found didn't work quite as well as the carpet had.
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With this project completed, it was time to add our sticker to our map!
We also enjoyed doing some of the activities at the back of the book together.
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: I loved how much this month's MEL Kids project inspired my daughter! She had so much fun testing out different surfaces and all of the educational information they provided coupled with the experiment was a perfect display of friction and how it works. I also liked that they encouraged her to add her own materials to the wheels to see how they worked. I always find that the knowledge sticks with them so much longer when it is hands-on and led somewhat by their own train of thought. The extra activities in the book and the VR portion were great ways to finish out our learning session. I feel like these boxes are really starting to hit their stride and I'm eager to see what our next box brings!
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!
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