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 editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
Science Expedition: "Solar Energy"
With a degree in Medical Technology and current employment as an Indigenous Support Advocate, science and education are two of my biggest passions. You can bet these passions have been spoon-fed to my own children since they have been babies, as I am always on the prowl for fun ways to incorporate both in our everyday lives. Little Passports does a fantastic job at curating fun, educational, and interesting themes with their monthly subscription. This month our theme was Solar Energy, and it may have been one of our favorites. Read below to see what we learned this month.
Solar Energy 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. It was all about Solar Energy this month and we received a really fun comic featuring Sam and Sofia that taught us about solar panels and different ways to conduct electricity. We also received instructions on how to create our own solar kettle, as well as a few other experiments. While we haven’t conducted these experiments yet, you can bet they are on our holiday-break list of things to do!
I love the fact that Hank and Charlie can read this comic together. Not only are they learning about science, but they are also learning about working together, which is another incredibly important life lesson.
Solar Energy Instruction Guide
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The themed comic book is a great prelude to the month’s experiments, and the boys couldn’t wait to dive in. They were really interested in the solar car but couldn't wait to check out the Spectroscope and Ultraviolet Impact too. The directions were explained well, but some were a little tricky to follow, so I had to assist here and there. All in all, they were fun activities that the kids enjoyed working on.
Project: Solar-Powered Car
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Here are all of our supplies for this month's project. We received a cardboard car base, a paper car top, three wheels, a motor, a metal axle, and a solar panel. Not included were felt tip markers, three small coins, and tape. I was very happy to see the major supplies included and hope this trend continues in the future!
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To build the solar-powered car, Hank first attached a wheel to the end of the motor shaft and taped the cardboard flap to the motor. Using clear tape, he added 3 pennies to the upper right corner of the car base to balance the weight of the motor. Setting that part aside, he folded up the designated tabs and taped the car form together, finally attaching it to the cardboard and motor piece with more tape. This was a bit tricky and warranted mom for some help.
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Once we taped the car together, Hank added the solar panel to the top. Twisting the wires together and adding a bit more tape, he was ready to race! While the car didn't go as fast as he hoped, it did scoot across our concrete slab with the help of the bright and beautiful sun. Scout wasn't sure what to this of this invention but thankfully didn't chase it down. Hank was pretty impressed that he could create a car that moves without a battery and couldn't wait to see how the next project would turn out.
Project: Spectroscope
For our second project, we received a cardboard tube, one black circle sticker, two black half-circle stickers, and a small piece of plastic diffraction grating. All we needed from home was tape and a variety of light sources. Perfect!
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After following the twelve steps to create the solar-powered car, it was surprising to only have five steps in this project. To create our spectroscope, we first peeled the sticker off of the back of the full circle sticker (taking the small square sticker out and tossing aside). Once this was done, we added the diffraction grating over the square hole in the middle of the sticker. Attaching the sticker to the cardboard tube, we folded down the tabs and stuck them down with tape. Flipping the tube over we did a similar process with the half circles, though we left a small gap in the middle to let the light through. Taping the tabs down, we were ready to observe specific colors and how they were spaced.
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To be honest, before we did this project, I didn't know what a spectroscope was. In case you are in the same boat, spectroscopes study sunlight and help scientists differentiate light compositions by dividing the light into its component wavelengths which we see as different colors. This was a very simple project that I found really intriguing. My 6-year-old didn't quite grasp the concept, but Hank thought it was really cool. While we appreciated the bright sunlight the most, but we also tried this on Christmas bulbs, our indoor lighting, and a campfire. Super cool!
Project: Ultraviolet Impact
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The last project included in this month's kit was an experiment involving ultraviolet light. We received three small, empty zip-top bags, UV beads in a bag, and a UV light testing chart. For this particular experiment, I needed to provide a permanent marker and sun protection such as a hat and sunscreen.
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For this experiment, we received UV beads that model human skin and eyes. To see how we can protect ourselves from UV rays, we labeled three bags with "Control," Sample 1," and "Sample 2." We then filled each back with an equal number of beads. The kids decided to try out a hat and 50 SPF sunscreen to see how well they protect our beads. If you look at our picture, we mislabeled the bags, so "Sample 1" is actually the control. Just look at the brilliant colors those beads turned from soaking in the sun! That's from UV rays. "Sample 2" represented wearing a hat, and the unlabeled bag was sprayed with sunscreen (hence why the marker ran off.) It was very interesting to see how much less damage was done when protected by the sun. Keep wearing those hats folks!
Solar Energy Badge
After we completed our activities, we were awarded the Solar Energy Badge, as a tribute to our hard work and play!
Verdict
We were really impressed with this month of Little Passports. After last month, we found the Solar Energy projects to be a little more intriguing than last month's Stars & Planets. While this kit was a little more adult intensive, we all had a great time creating the solar car and spectroscope, while conducting the experiment together. Not only did we learn a lot, but we had a lot of fun too. I felt the $27.95 price point was more on par for this month than last and was very happy with the curation. What did you think of this box?
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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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