Tinker Crate is a subscription box for kids and tweens ages 9-16+ created by kids subscription box company KiwiCo. Each monthly Tinker Crate contains all the materials and instructions needed to create innovative, hands-on STEM projects, as well as a "Tinker Zine" full of educational information and additional activities.
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 KiwiCo's Tinker Crate (for ages 9-16+), which costs $19.95 per month.
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 Tinker Crate
The Subscription Box: Tinker Crate
The Cost: $19.95 per month + free shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Get 50% off your 1st month! No coupon needed - just use this link.
The Products: Innovative hands-on STEM projects for kids, plus the materials and detailed instructions your child needs to complete them. You'll also get a "Tinker Zine" full of educational information and additional activities.
Ships to: The U.S. for free, Canada for $3.95 per month, worldwide from $4.95-$6.95
KiwiCo Tinker Crate "Vacuum Chamber" Review
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Our Tinker Zine was all about air pressure this month with tons of educational information about how pressure works in relation to breathing and some great experiments such as making our own barometer or using our chamber for a pipette challenge. They also include some great further reading suggestions for us.
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The directions for our project come on a separate sheet with illustrated steps broken into different sections. They always include helpful troubleshooting information as well.
Part A: Build the Pump
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Our first step was to build the pump. They provided some rubber tubing, a syringe, a plastic beaker, some valves, and some tube connectors for us.
1 of 4 | First, Liv used the guide in the instructions to cut the tubing.
Then she tested it out to see if the air would come out of one side when she operated the syringe. It was a success!
Part B: Make the Chamber
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Now it was time to make the chamber. They provided a base for us and a large plastic dome along with a rubber seal, a rubber stopper, a binder clip, and a brad fastener.
1 of 5 | She added the tubing to the connector.
After placing the binder clip on one end of our tubing, we tested out our chamber by pumping the air out which sealed our chamber for us. Now it was time to experiment!
Using and Experimenting with the Chamber
They provided two small balloons, two small pipettes, a bell, some rubber bands, and some foam squares (which we never used), for our experiments.
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Of course, the balloon had to come first. I blew it up just a little, tied it and then placed it in the chamber. Liv pumped it and it got bigger, although it's hard to see here.
Next came the marshmallows! We only had mini ones on hand but you can see here that the air came right back out of the single marshmallow after it blew up and when she did four marshmallows, some got bigger than others. She can't wait to try bigger marshmallows next time!
We also tested the bell by connecting it to the brad fastener using the rubber band. This one had more to do with sound than anything visual which was cool to try out!
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Then we used the little beaker to try out some dish soap and water!
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She was super excited to test out anything she could so she ran around the house gathering different objects to try. Here she is trying out a marker cap. I loved how it sparked her curiosity!
Verdict: While it doesn't happen every month, sometimes Tinker Crate sparks my children's curiosity in the best way and it really transforms our experience into a lasting, educational lesson. This was one of those months and I loved seeing my daughter's excitement and watching her try new things in her vacuum chamber. It really got her thinking about how it works and what types of items could be altered by the pressure. Assembling the chamber was very simple and everything was very well organized with a few fun experiments provided so that we can continue the learning with another lesson if we choose to. We had a lot of fun with this one!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? It is possible you might get this crate, but it is not a guarantee. From KiwiCo:
Crates are assigned each month based on availability and your crate history - not all subscribers receive the same theme each month.
ACTIVE DEAL: Get 50% off your 1st month! No coupon needed - just use this link.
Check out all of our Tinker Crate reviews and the best subscription boxes for kids!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
What do you think of this month's Tinker Crate?
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