Atlas Crate (Ages 6-11)
Is This The Right KiwiCo Box For My Family?
We have been receiving Atlas Crate since its inception, and in that time, my family has personally explored over 30 different countries through these boxes. I think that means I can confidently say that this box is a well-thought-out educational experience that has entertained my children (now aged 5 and 6) for many months and taught them all about new places!
KiwiCo has so many different lines to choose from, and since we have traveled the world through this box and visited everywhere from Madagascar to Russia to Nepal, I thought I’d give a general overview of what to expect and highlight some of our favorite projects so that you can decide if it’s a good fit for you!
About Atlas Crate
The Subscription Box: Atlas Crate
The Cost: $19.95 per month + free shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: Crafts and DIY projects for kids, with supplemental learning kits, booklets, and activities. Crates are filled with materials and inspiration to encourage creativity and curiosity about the world.
Ships to: The U.S. for free, Canada for $3.95 per month, and worldwide from $4.95-$6.95
Interested in the monthly box? Check out our past reviews here.
Pros & Cons
The Pros
- This is definitely an "open-up-and-go" box with no planning necessary on your part.
- I've found it easy to split between my 2 kids, although this may not be true for every family.
- They cover a variety of countries and feature a broad range of activities.
- While the age range is 6-11 years, this can easily be adapted for younger children.
- It is an engaging and educational subscription, perfect for a child interested in other cultures.
- There is some flexibility in this box as far as being able to split up the activities if you prefer short sessions, or to even extend them further if you wanted to.
The Cons
- Sometimes I wish they would dive a little deeper into their craft choices as they relate to the culture.
- There have been a few projects we weren't crazy about or that didn't turn out as well as we'd hoped, but overall, most have been very engaging.
Is It Worth It?
- Yes, my kids are engaged in the age-appropriate materials and constantly learning through the process. They are always excited to see what this box has in store each month!
I'd Recommend This If
- Your child is interested in geography or learning about world cultures.
- You want activities that are well organized and require very little planning.
- You are looking for a fun and engaging way to teach your child about the world.
How Does it Work?
Each month you'll receive a box delivered to your door containing all of the high-quality materials you'll need for the activities inside (with the exception of water or other household items). Your first box will be the World box, which includes a World Map, your Adventure Book, and the continent pages for organizing your book. After that crates are assigned based on your history so that you never receive the same crate twice.
What's in Each Box?
There are some aspects of Atlas Crate boxes that are consistent month to month. Each box contains:
- An envelope full of colorful, collectible cards with educational information about the new country including a recipe and another activity to "do" such as a dance to learn or a craft idea.
- A sticker to add to the passport page in your Adventure Book.
- High-quality materials with 2 or more games, crafts, or activities for your child.
Each box also has a page that you can access through your account, which includes some fun facts about the country and some book suggestions for you.
What Countries Will We Visit?
We have visited such a great range of countries in our years receiving Atlas Crate. They always include new pages to add to your Adventure Book filled with information about each country along with a note from Anya and Milo, our box mascots. Let's check out which countries from each continent!
- Europe: Germany, Italy, England, Russia, The Netherlands, Greece, Spain, France, Sweden
- Asia: Japan, Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, South Korea, China, India
- South America: Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica
- North America: Canada, Mexico, Guatemala
- Africa: Ethiopia, Madagascar, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya
- Australia
The Activities
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Games
Often one of the fun activities in our box will be a game from the country we are studying. I always love these because I think getting to experience one of their pastimes is a great bit of insight into their culture. They include all of the materials that you need and the step-by-step instructions are illustrated and easy to follow.
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We really loved playing Daruma Otoshi from Japan, Bagh Chal from Nepal, and Juego De Sapo from Peru.
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Arts & Crafts
Sometimes there will be crafts that involve making things with yarn or weaving and other times there will be painting or other crafty things we have to build. They all really do range depending on the country and they always give some related fun facts on the back of our instructions. This sloth activity was one that my kids loved!
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They also had a blast putting on their own puppet theater with our Thailand box, making their own pizza oven with our Italy box, and making a moose snowglobe with our Canada box.
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If you're curious about some of the painting activities (or worried about the mess-factor) you can check out some examples from our Nigeria box, Spain box, or our France box. They really do a great job of keeping the process simple and the mess at a minimum!
Questions You May Have
Can I use this with multiple children?
- Each box always has two activities, and I have always been able to divide them between two of my children fairly easily. While it varies box to box, there is usually one activity that appeals to one age more than the other, but this will be entirely dependent on your own children!
Can I fit this into my schedule?
- This box is very flexible. You could certainly stretch it out or even make it go faster depending on your scheduling needs. There are two activities so you can easily do them at separate times!
Will this work if my child is younger than the intended age?
- I have found the activities pretty easy to modify, but I do think this box requires a good amount of assistance for those younger than 6.
How much work is in it for me?
- There is no planning necessary on your part, but some supervision and occasional assistance may be needed. It is also helpful to have a parent facilitate going through the materials, almost as an educator would since the cards offer so much reading material about the countries.
Are the experiments messy?
- While we have received painting activities, they always keep it simple and keep the mess to a minimum. They even include paper to cover your surface for those messier projects.
How long does each box take?
- The box can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on the level of engagement of the child. You can easily separate the activities to make them shorter, but each activity generally takes around 30 minutes for us to complete. You could also extend the time you spend by adding in some further research and exploration of the country outside of the box materials!
Is everything I need in the box?
- Yes, everything you need (with the exception of a few things from home, like water for the occasional painting activities or scissors) is included in the box.
The Verdict
We have had a lot of fun learning and playing with Atlas Crate over the years. While the targeted age range is 6- 11, I have been successfully completing this box with my older two children since my daughter was just a little younger than 4 and now that she is 6.5 and my son is just about to turn 5, it has proven to be a subscription that can engage children of varying ages and grow with them. This subscription offers a lot of flexibility in that regard, although they did require a lot more assistance when they were younger. I am looking forward to seeing them become more independent with this box and I think it's a great way to learn more about the parts of the world that many of us don't get to explore ourselves!
If this isn't the monthly subscription box for you, check out some of the other KiwiCo 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,
- Doodle Crate and Tinker Crate for 9-16+-year-olds,
- Eureka Crate and Maker Crate for ages 14 and up.
What do you think of Atlas Crate?
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