March Madness is upon us! It’s a fun time to guess which college basketball teams will win, but did you know that basketball actually has a lot of science behind it? Physics, friction, probability, and more! So what better time to take a look at some basketball science?
Continue reading “Basketball Science”
We’re On Our Way to Hong Kong! STEM Education Boxes Available
We’re delighted to announce that KiwiCo is now shipping STEM education boxes to Hong Kong!
Our projects are seriously fun, and inspire kids to become creative problem solvers. Every STEM and art box is built with care, tested for over 1,000 hours with age-appropriate options for ages 0-104. Crates are delivered monthly, and you can pause or cancel anytime!
KiwiCo Hong Kong STEM & Art Education Boxes
Panda Crate (0-24 months) – Bonding & Early Development
Koala Crate (Ages 2-4) – Learning Through Play
Kiwi Crate (Ages 5-8) – Creative Learning
Atlas Crate (Ages 6-11) – Geography & Culture
Doodle Crate (Ages 9-16+) – Crafting & Arts
Tinker Crate (Ages 9-16+) – Science & Engineering
Maker Crate (Ages 14-104) – Crafting & Arts
Eureka Crate (Ages 14-104) – Science & Engineering
STEM & Art Box Shipping Rates
International shipping rates for Hong Kong start at $5.95 USD. A full list of countries we ship to can be found here. When you begin a new KiwiCo subscription, we’ll ship the first box within 1-2 business.
Want to hear what our awesome customers are saying about us? Browse through over 19,000 KiwiCo reviews! We are so pleased to welcome Hong Kong to our growing KiwiCo community!
Explore 14 Different Experiments with KiwiCo’s Chemistry Sets
Kids are fascinated with chemical reactions. But learning about combustion, bioluminescence and other reactions takes a lot of work. You need both a knowledge of chemistry and the supplies to conduct experiments.
That’s where KiwiCo’s chemistry sets can help. Our chemistry sets come with all of the supplies that you need. They also provide easy-to-understand context for young scientists, so kids can learn about scientific concepts. Our chemistry set bundle includes:
- Safety equipment, including safety goggles and gloves
- Easy-to-follow instructions that also explain key scientific concepts. All of our chemistry sets help kids learn more about polymers, plastic, solids and liquids.
- All the chemicals and supplies you need to conduct the experiments
- The parts you need to create a burner, mixer, UV lamp and spiral stand
With our Glow Lab, Vortex Lab and Fire Lab, we provide everything you need to explore the wonders of chemistry.
Fire Lab Activities:
The Fire Lab helps kids learn about combustion, oxidation capillary action and other concepts. Here’s a list of activities and experiments that come with the Fire Lab:
- Learn about Combustion Chemistry
- Fire & Fuels Experiment
- Fire & Oxygen Experiment
- Flame Vacuum Experiment
- Solid Flame Test Experiment
- Liquid Flame Test Experiment
- Burning Steel Experiment
- Color Burner Experiment
You can get the Fire Lab here.
Glow Lab Activities:
Things that glow in the dark are awesome. Understanding why things glow it the dark is awesome too! The Glow Lab helps kids understand concept such as fluorescence, phosphorescence and chemiluminescence. Here’s a list of activities and experiments that come with the Glow Lab:
- Learn about Cold Light
- Learn about Invisible Light
- Fluorescein Experiment
- Zinc Sulfide Experiment
- Luminol Reaction Experiment
You can get the Glow Lab here.
Vortex Lab Activities:
High-speed mixing has never been so fun. The Vortex Lab helps kids learn about the science of solubility, diffusion and oxidation-reduction. Here’s a list of activities that come with the set:
- Build the Mixing Machine
- Motion & Kinetics Experiment
- Heat & Kinetics Experiment
- Iodine Clock Reaction
- Blue Bottle Reaction
- DIY Oil & Water Experiment
You can get the set here.
Interested in all three sets? Check out our Chemistry (3-Pack) to save on the Vortex Lab, Fire Lab and Glow Lab. Get it here.
Introducing our first Kindness Crate in partnership with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
I’ll start with a personal confession: one of my (many) struggles as a parent is how to involve my kids more in community service and raise their awareness of causes and issues in the world around them. From talking to friends in our community and all the other parents on our team, I know I’m not alone. We all want to raise our kids to be kind, concerned and empathetic citizens – but the actual execution of getting involved is so daunting! How do I find a cause that they would understand and find relevant, a volunteer activity that’s appropriate (and welcoming) for kids, and fit it into our busy schedules??
With this in mind, our team has been talking for a long time about developing what we are calling the “Kindness Crate” – something that would:
- Introduce kids to a cause & educate them about it (in a kid-friendly way)
- Include a hands-on activity to connect kids to the cause (because, as you know, we believe a fully immersive experience is the best way to learn anything!)
- Promote empathy and provide a way for kids to actually practice kindness, give back and get involved
So… I am really excited to announce the launch of the first KiwiCo Kindness Crate: Lemonade Stand – in partnership with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. ALSF is a national non-profit started by four-year-old Alex Scott in 2000 and is dedicated to raising funds for research into new treatments and cures for all children battling cancer.
The activities and information included in this crate will help kids learn more about the work that scientists are doing to find better medicines and cures for cancer — and how ALSF – and kids just like them – help to support and advance that work. Also included are all the materials and instructions to build and run their own lemonade stand (including a “working” cash register and an adorable chalkboard sign for marketing purposes :)) to raise money for the cause (or any other cause that is important to them, really.) And as an added educational bonus, the crate includes some fun math games the kids can play with money; we provide KiwiCo currency – if they want the real deal, they might have to do the lemonade stand first! Finally, we are including a return envelope so kids can easily send their donations back to ALSF – and KiwiCo will be donating 25% of all sales of this crate to the organization too!
We hope to inspire kids to become more aware of issues in the world around them – not in a way to make them feel sad or guilty about their own fortune in comparison, but in order to encourage their empathy for others … and to see themselves as agents of change and the creative problem solvers of tomorrow. Because, one thing is for sure, there will still be plenty of problems left for them to solve!
We’d love to see any photos of your kids and their lemonade stands in action at #kiwicocares. And if you have tips on how you get involved in community service activities or issues with your kids, please share – great parenting hacks are always welcome!
All the best,
Sandra
Birthday Celebrations Around the World
In honor of our Atlas Crate launch, we’re looking at common connections between kids all over the world. One of the most important things we have in common are birthdays! No matter how we celebrate them, growing up is a time for family and friends to come together. Let’s take a look at different traditions for birthday celebrations around the world! Continue reading “Birthday Celebrations Around the World”
KiwiCo & the Flat Stanley Project
Have you heard of The Flat Stanley Project? It was created in Canada by Dale Hubert in 1995 as a way to engage his 3rd grade students in literacy, geography, and social studies. Kids cut out and color a fictional character named Stanley, then mail him to a friend. One may have arrived at your house from a friend who lives far away… or you may have supported your kiddo in finding a distant friend or relative to ship her Flat Stanley off to.
Stanleys have traveled all over the world this way!
Here at KiwiCo, we don’t have Stanleys, but we do have Steve! Steve the Kiwi has traveled all over the world. Here are a few of his recent adventures.
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Steve skiing in Tahoe
Continue reading “KiwiCo & the Flat Stanley Project”
Maker Profile: The Inventor of Post-it Notes
Did you know that the inventor of Post-it Notes, a convenient office supply that we take for granted, created them completely by accident?
Much like with our exploration of the invention of Silly Putty, the original inventor of Post-its was trying to make a better version of something that already existed. In this case, he was working on a better adhesive–something like tape or glue. Spencer Silver, a chemist at 3M, was trying to create “a better, stronger, tougher adhesive.” And guess what? He totally failed!
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Introducing Atlas!
As parents, we really want our kids to see themselves as citizens of our global community: to develop an appreciation for other cultures, and to grow their understanding of – and empathy for – communities and customs beyond their own experience. But it can certainly be a challenge to help our kids gain that perspective – especially since their lifetime orbits generally extend not much further than 5 miles from home!
Summer Reading Recommendations for Kids
School is out for summer! It’s a time for more unstructured playtime and creativity. Dive headfirst into your imagination this summer with fun hands-on projects and a stack of books!
See below for Koala, Kiwi, Doodle and Tinker Crate recommendations! Continue reading “Summer Reading Recommendations for Kids”
5 Ideas for Traveling with Kids
Now that summer is starting, it’s time to think about summer vacation, and all the trips you’ll take as a family! Vacation is great, but traveling with kids can be a challenge. Here are some ideas for traveling with kids that might make the road trip or flight a little more fun!
Continue reading “5 Ideas for Traveling with Kids”