You probably know by now that KiwiCo has a subscription line for just about every age, but did you know they also offer fun one-time boxes in their shop? They have interactive toys, educational kits that are similar to their monthly boxes, and even some fun holiday-themed boxes. As a mom, I am always intrigued by these boxes, but before I buy, I like to know exactly what I'm getting. This series will provide you with a review of some of these unique one-time boxes and hopefully help you make an informed decision about your own purchases. If there's a box you'd like to see reviewed from their shop, drop a line in the comments and we'll see what we can do!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This is a review of KiwiCo's Environmental Science: Oil Cleanup Kit (recommended for ages 5+) for $34.95.
First Impressions
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I knew that Earth Day was coming up so I thought that this kit would be a perfect way to supplement our homeschool learning!
What's Inside the Environmental Science: Oil Cleanup Kit?
Everything was tucked neatly inside this reusable plastic bin with a lid and then further organized in a cardboard box with compartments for all of the pieces making everything easy to find.
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This guide contained a ton of educational information about what happens when there is an oil spill in the ocean. Not only did they set the storyline for us, but then the activities were interspersed throughout so that the kids could actively be thinking about how to solve such a problem. I really loved the flow of this book, and of course, the vibrant, real-life images were great to demonstrate each step!
Materials
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Inside the cardboard box, there was a bottle of blue dye, vegetable oil, a strainer scoop, a plastic beaker, some cleaning gel, and various tools to clean up the spill like a dropper, a spoon, a sponge, and some cotton balls. Our favorite pieces, though, were the wooden animals and their matching fur pieces.
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There were also some foam shapes, plastic connectors, and a little plastic boat.
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They provided a little notebook for our lab notes.
Oil Cleanup
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The first step was to make our "ocean." I filled up our tub halfway with water and then my son added a few drops of the blue dye. Then we placed the boat in the ocean and added some vegetable oil to it.
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Next, we prepared our animals by slipping their little fur pieces over their wooden bodies. They were pretty cute and I loved that there were so many different textures!
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Then our oil "spilled" (we dumped the oil from our boat into the ocean), and my son swam our animals through it before rescuing them with the strainer scoop. They talked about how oil and water don't mix, and about what really might happen in the ocean.
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Our guide explained all about how the animals would react to oil spills and what rescuers would do to help get them cleaned. We inspected their fur, then rinsed it before they explained that we needed to use the cleaning agent to break down the oil on our animals. I loved how thorough they were in their explanations.
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With our animals rescued and cleaned, it was now time to clean up the ocean. They talked us through some problem-solving and told us about all of the tools we had at our disposal. We tried scooping out the oil, sucking it up with the dropper, and soaking it up with the sponge and cotton balls. It was such a great way to visualize the process!
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Lastly, we dumped some more oil in our ocean and began constructing a boom using the foam pieces and connectors.
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With our oil now contained, we were able to suck it out a lot easier. I loved how they made a real-life connection to what they really do when there is an oil spill!
Value - Was This Box Worth It?
The Cost: $34.95 + free shipping
This was a really great kit and an awesome learning experience! I think it was definitely worth it for us, especially since we were able to use it as part of our homeschool lesson. The materials can all be used over and over again and I can easily add some more vegetable oil and soap to our kit as needed, too, so we can do this year after year.
Key Takeaways
We had so much fun with this and learned so much about oil spills. I love that they provided so much information and an actual experience with the way our booklet and activities were set up. The materials were quality and we learned a lot! I'd say that makes it a winning kit!
To Wrap Up:
Is this box still available? Yes, as of now the Environmental Science: Oil Cleanup Kit is still available!
Have you tried any of the boxes from the KiwiCo shop? Let us know in the comments below!
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