Little Passports is a subscription box that helps kids explore the world through fun and educational activities and is one of the best subscription boxes for kids as voted by MSA readers. They offer a range of subscription options for ages 3-8+, as well as "Individual Activity Kits" that can be ordered along with any subscription at the time of purchase.
This review is of the Little Passports: Science Expeditions (recommended ages 8+) for $27.95. This box includes science experiments, plus a comic book related to the monthly theme.
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.)
Science Expedition: "Pressure Power"
The first thing that came to my mind after reading this month's Little Passports theme was the song "Under Pressure" by Queen. Of course, I had to play this song as my kids and I were assembling this month's project, which by the way was awesome. Read below to find out what we learned about and built.
Pressure Power Comic and Activity Book
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Every month, Little Passports sends our monthly activity along with a really fun comic and activity book pertaining to the monthly theme. Our Pressure Power comic was wonderfully illustrated and depicted a pressure washer, pressure in a balloon, a hydraulic lift, and more. The kids were really into this comic and found the race car part to be their favorite. They also enjoyed the "Which will Work" and "Pressure Path" activities, building their knowledge and vocabulary along the way!
Hank really enjoyed this month's comic and read it aloud to his little brother. It's fun to see them working on a project together, I have found this to be a great team-building experience.
Hydraulic Robot Arm Instruction Guide
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After gaining a background in pressure power via the comic book, Hank and Charlie decided to dive into this month's project: a hydraulic robot arm. The instructions looked a little intense at first, but we soon discovered if you read everything through twice and take your time, you will end up with a successfully made project. Hank is usually able to build these sorts of projects on his own, but this one proved to be a bit of a challenge. I was able to step in and assist, and we made it through with minimum stress and a lot of satisfaction.
Project: Hydraulic Robot Arm
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This month we were given a kit filled with a variety of items. We received four syringes, seven zip ties, two short dowels, two wires, three long metal fasteners, four short metal fasteners, gaskets, tubing, and pre-cut cardboard pieces. One note I would like to share...DO NOT throw your box away. We were taking our cardboard to the recycling center so I quickly broke down the box this came in before reading the instructions...only to find out that we actually needed that box for this project. Whoops!
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To start our project, we decided it would be a good idea to run through the instructions first, as there seemed to be quite a few steps. I'm glad we did this because we found a lot of little items that we may have missed had we just gone ahead and started. From home, we needed a pencil, ruler, scissors, water, and packing tape. After gathering these supplies, we set to work. Realizing I pitched the box, we went to plan B and used a similar-sized box that hadn't hit the chopping block yet. Following the instructions, we poked holes in the box in their designated spots and zip-tied the hole-less syringes onto it like the picture showed.
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Once the syringes were in place, we moved on to Step 5 and created our arm. Using the fasteners, we folded the cardboard tabs up and fastened them into place. Using the gaskets and dowels, it really started coming together! Note: pictures were key with these instructions! They were more helpful than the descriptions.
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Once the arm was assembled, we came to the hardest part - creating the claw. Carefully following the directions, (and most definitely the pictures) we inserted the short fasteners into place and created our claw-like parts, and then we added the dowels. Threading the wires through the holes was another tricky part, but we were able to get it done easily enough as a team. Once that was completed, we aligned our pieces and pushed the fasteners through the designated slots. Once the claw was assembled, we inserted the wire into the syringe and added the last of the dowels. Finally, we were able to add our tubing. Using the tubes, we added water to our syringe and connected the tubing back to the syringe. Then our hydraulic robot arm was complete.
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This robot arm was super cool! One syringe worked to move the up and down motion, while the other worked to open and close the claw. Hank said he felt like my dad, who runs a hydraulic shovel at the mines! We were able to pick up a paper cup, and scotch tape with this claw, which was really neat. I think this was our favorite box yet!
Pressure Power Badge
After we completed our activities we were then awarded the Pressure Power Badge, as a tribute to our hard work and play!
Verdict
My son is an avid builder and his dream job is to be a farmer. After this Hydraulic Robot Arm project, he has decided his "plan B" is to be a hydraulic shovel runner like his grandpa, as he is now pretty much a professional, after all the practice he has put in. 🤣 It is safe to say this was one of the coolest boxes we have received from Little Passports, and the comic book, extra activities, educational aspect, and building kit made me really feel like I got my $27.95 out of this particular box. I was a little disappointed to see these pieces made out of cardboard, as I feel a wood kit would have been a lot more durable but was extremely happy with the curation and excitement this box delivered. What do you think next month's theme will be?
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To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? You'll start with the Forensic Science box in the first month, followed by a different themed box each month thereafter.
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