{"id":1551108,"date":"2018-10-28T15:40:27","date_gmt":"2018-10-28T20:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/?p=1551108"},"modified":"2021-11-19T14:21:06","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T20:21:06","slug":"atlas-crate-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/atlas-crate-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring The World With The Atlas Crate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since we had the opportunity to review KiwiCo’s entire line of educational subscription crates, we’ve been waiting to see what new product they would come up with for this holiday season.<\/p>\n

The wait has ended.\u00a0 \u00a0The Atlas Crate has arrived.<\/p>\n

Is it as good a value as the other subscription boxes made by KiwiCo? More importantly, is it as fun?<\/p>\n

Read on to find out.<\/p>\n

Find Out More About the Atlas Crate<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

I’ll begin by sharing some information about the Atlas Crate but scroll down if you want to hear more<\/a> about our team’s own hands-on experience with this geography-focused gift box.<\/p>\n

Who Is The Atlas Crate For?<\/h3>\n

\"Atlas<\/a>The Atlas Crate is targeted at children aged 6 and up.\u00a0 The website recommends this box for kids up to age 11, while the packaging states 6+. Our hands-on review was done by a child 10 years old who thought older kids would enjoy it.<\/p>\n

Made For Geography Lovers<\/h4>\n

This particular subscription is focused on learning more about people, places and cultures in the world around it.\u00a0 The primary subject focus is geography<\/strong> – the subscription explores places around the world.\u00a0 It goes much deeper than just a cursory look at a country or area.<\/p>\n

Instead, there’s plenty for the history<\/strong> or social science<\/strong> lover to enjoy as well.\u00a0 Atlas cards provide interesting facts and trivia about each month’s location.\u00a0 There are cool photos for the visually-driven learner.\u00a0 Readings help to bring the people and culture of each area to life.<\/p>\n

If you child likes history, geography, or reciting lists of facts they’ve learned – this is a good choice for them.<\/p>\n

Who Should Look Elsewhere?<\/h3>\n

While there are activities that involve building, it’s not a crate dedicated to building for building’s sake.\u00a0 A science-focused child could learn from this subscription, but might not like it as much as other ones available. \u00a0 If your child doesn’t like the social sciences, this probably isn’t the right one for them.<\/p>\n

I’m not sure high school children would enjoy the Atlas Crate for very long.\u00a0 Check out our 2200+ word guide<\/a> for more options for children in that age group, or who have a burning passion in another area<\/p>\n

Our Verdict:\u00a0 The Atlas Crate is a perfect choice for a child who loves to learn more about places – and the people that live there. It’s a good starting-off point for discussion about history and other social sciences.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/div><\/div>\n

What Is the Atlas Crate?<\/h3>\n

As with all KiwiCo products, the Atlas Crate subscription is mailed to you monthly.\u00a0 Inside you’ll find nearly everything you’ll need to construct that month’s creative creations.\u00a0 Our box came with nearly everything we needed to complete the projects. Since there was a recipe for trail mix included, we needed to get our own food ingredients to cook that project.\u00a0 (This isn’t Freshly <\/a>– it’s a monthly activity box.)<\/p>\n

The kit pieces were well made.\u00a0 The items that needed to handle more stress are made of plastic or solid wood.\u00a0 Sometimes kit manufacturers will try to cut down shipping costs by using heavy cardboard as a material.\u00a0 This can work but ultimately isn’t as durable as going with plastic.\u00a0 It was a nice touch in our kit.<\/p>\n

The pieces that snapped together were impressive.\u00a0 Neither I or my son were able to unsnap them once the globe was put together.\u00a0 It’s one example of how well engineered KiwiCo products tend to be.<\/p>\n

The instruction booklet was well written.\u00a0 Instructions were clear – in a nice, colorful format as well. If your child can put together a Lego Kit<\/a>, he or she can handle building projects with the Atlas Crate.<\/p>\n

\"Instructions<\/p>\n

Our Hands-On Atlas Crate Review<\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nAs with all subscription box services, an Atlas Crate membership provides different themed projects shipped to your door every month.\u00a0 KiwiCo highlights three different boxes on their website<\/a>.\u00a0 One involves building a flutter fish windsock.\u00a0 Another is about Peru – so crafts are centered towards exploring that culture.<\/p>\n

As we mentioned earlier, the Atlas Crate is for geography fans.\u00a0 My 10-year-old son enjoys history and geography, which tend to travel together at this age.\u00a0 We, therefore, tackled the crate together.\u00a0 I’ll include a mix of my and my son’s opinions in this section.\u00a0 We were provided a free crate to use for our review.<\/p>\n

Our review will cover one of the projects from our crate.\u00a0 Since he’s 10, I decided to take a very hands-off approach to my involvement in building our project.\u00a0 I was available if he needed my help – but since I was taking pictures the entire time I was a bit busy, and just let him decide if he needed any adult hands.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Inside all the parts for the project are nicely laid out.\u00a0 He decided to tackle building his own globe.\u00a0 He took out the instructions and followed them step by step.\u00a0 The only issue he had was opening one of the sealed plastic bags.\u00a0 I didn’t have scissors handy and he wasn’t strong enough to rip it open so he needed my help.\u00a0 It was a little weird that all the other plastic bags were resealable except for that one – but that’s more of a curiosity than a complaint.<\/p>\n

\"Building<\/a><\/p>\n

As he was adding the land-mass felt stickers to the globe, he would let me know some fact about the area.\u00a0 “Dad, did you know Greenland was named Greenland to get more people to settle there?”<\/p>\n

“Did you know Africa is the second largest continent in the world?”<\/p>\n

He then went on to building the frame that holds the globe.\u00a0 Through some pretty cool “felt-sticker engineering”, he was able to make a well-built, sturdy globe.\u00a0 You can see in the video below how you can spin it pretty fast without any wobble or worries of it breaking.<\/p>\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/spinning_globe_atlas_crate.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

What We Liked The Best<\/h3>\n

Here are the highlights of this geography crate from both a Dad and son’s perspective:<\/p>\n

What I Liked Best As A Parent:<\/h4>\n