{"id":49057,"date":"2017-11-28T13:39:19","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T19:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/?p=49057"},"modified":"2021-11-19T14:20:07","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T20:20:07","slug":"pinball-crate-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/pinball-crate-review\/","title":{"rendered":"We&#8217;re On Tilt Over This Pinball KiwiCo Crate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If there is one thing that seems clear to me, children learn different subjects through different means.\u00a0 Some learn best by reading. Others absorb information better through video.<\/p>\n<p>Not every child wants to explore science through the front door.\u00a0 There&#8217;s a group that learns best through hands-on doing.<\/p>\n<p>The Kiwi Crate could be pigeon-holed as a craft box.\u00a0 It is a great fit for creative art-loving children, but I think it appeals to a wider audience.\u00a0 This gift box is a great idea for the kids using &#8220;doing&#8221; as a ladder to the &#8220;how and why&#8221; questions.\u00a0 A child that enjoys making something for the sake of creation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-button-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/recommends\/kiwi-crate\/\" class=\"su-button su-button-style-soft su-button-wide\" style=\"color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#E74C3C;border-color:#b93d30;border-radius:12px;-moz-border-radius:12px;-webkit-border-radius:12px\" target=\"__blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span style=\"color:#FFFFFF;padding:0px 30px;font-size:22px;line-height:44px;border-color:#ef8277;border-radius:12px;-moz-border-radius:12px;-webkit-border-radius:12px;text-shadow:none;-moz-text-shadow:none;-webkit-text-shadow:none\"> Find Out More About the Kiwi Crate<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p>I&#8217;ll begin by sharing some information about the Kiwi Product Crate, but scroll down if you want to hear more about our team&#8217;s own hands-on experience with this STEAM box.<\/p>\n<h3>Who Is The Kiwi Pinball Crate For?<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/kiwi-crate.7eer.net\/c\/453182\/237953\/4034?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kiwico.com%2Fkiwi&amp;subid1=boxpic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-49185\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-360x270.jpg\" alt=\"KiwiCrate Review\" width=\"360\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-360x270.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-250x188.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-877x658.jpg 877w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-105x79.jpg 105w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-352x264.jpg 352w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a>The Kiwi Crate is designed to be used by children aged 5 and up. The upper bound is a bit fluid &#8211; the website says up to age 8, while the packaging states 5+. Our reviewer felt this could work for the right child up to about age 10.<\/p>\n<p>While the focus is on creation through art or craft building, I think even non-&#8220;artsy&#8221; kids will enjoy building and playing with the completed work.\u00a0 Our particular review crate was focused on moving and rolling &#8211; the main activity was building a pinball machine.\u00a0 This project would be fun for pre-K through middle school-aged kids in my opinion.<\/p>\n<p>The focus of this subscription is to bring out creativity through the use of a child&#8217;s hands.\u00a0 So much traditional learning is done through verbal or written communication. This product provides a monthly opportunity to expand learning into the physical world, under the total control of our child.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a great way to build confidence.<\/p>\n<h3>Who Should Look Elsewhere?<\/h3>\n<p>This wouldn&#8217;t be the best choice for a child that really doesn&#8217;t enjoy creating crafts.\u00a0 \u00a0Older middle and high school children probably wouldn&#8217;t enjoy the Kiwi line of crates much.\u00a0 Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/best-stem-science-tech-engineering-learning-toys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">our 2200+ word guide on STEM subscription boxes<\/a> for more options for children in that age group, or who have a burning passion in another area<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#1c3e7f;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#365899;border-color:#ffffff;color:#ffffff;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">Our Verdict: The Kiwi line of Kiwico Crates is perfect for a child showing interest in exploring the world through artistic expression. While an average 4 or 5-year-old might need some help with the projects, older children will be able to tackle the entire activity on their own.\u00a0 These are great opportunities for a child to showcase their creative work.<\/div><\/div>\n<h3>What Is the Kiwi Product Line?<\/h3>\n<p>The Kiwi line of subscription boxes by KiwiCo is mailed to you monthly.\u00a0 Inside you&#8217;ll find nearly everything you&#8217;ll need to construct that month&#8217;s creative creations.\u00a0 Our box came with everything we needed to get building immediately.<\/p>\n<p>The kit pieces were well made.\u00a0 The items that need to handle more stress are made of plastic.\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&#8217;t as durable as going with plastic.\u00a0 It was a nice touch to our kit.<\/p>\n<p>The instruction booklet was well written.\u00a0 Instructions were clear &#8211; in a nice, colorful format as well. If your child can put together a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/best-lego-sets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lego Kit<\/a>, he or she can handle building with the Kiwi Crate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-youtube su-u-responsive-media-yes\"><iframe width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lafyYS12tQQ?autohide=2&amp;autoplay=0&amp;mute=0&amp;controls=1&amp;fs=0&amp;loop=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;rel=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;theme=dark&amp;wmode=&amp;playsinline=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture\" title=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>Our Hands-On Review &#8211; KiwiCo Pinball Project<\/h2>\n<p>As with all subscription STEM project services, you get different themed projects shipped to your door every month.\u00a0 Kiwi Crate <a class=\"thirstylink\" title=\"Kiwi Crate\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/recommends\/kiwi-crate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">highlights three different projects on their website<\/a>.\u00a0 One involves building an arcade prize claw.\u00a0 Another is entitled the fun of flight.<\/p>\n<p>We had a friend of Fractus Learning tackle the Pinball Machine project with his 8-year-old daughter.\u00a0 They were allowed to keep the crate in thanks for their honest assessment.\u00a0 The comments below are all his.<\/p>\n<p>Our first impression upon opening the crate box was amazement at how many pieces there were.\u00a0 This project wasn&#8217;t going to be a half-hour endeavor!\u00a0 I thought that was good because if a child has to wait an entire month for the project, there should be some &#8220;heft&#8221; to it.<\/p>\n<p>We took out the instruction booklet and then laid out all the parts on our kitchen counter-top.\u00a0 You do need a little space to be able to construct the pinball machine.\u00a0 \u00a0The finished project comes in slightly under 18 inches long by 14 inches wide.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/kiwi-crate.7eer.net\/c\/453182\/237953\/4034?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kiwico.com%2Fkiwi&amp;subid1=cratepic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-49184\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_20171128_112813444-360x480.jpg\" alt=\"KiwiCrate Pinball Project underway\" width=\"360\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_20171128_112813444-360x480.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_20171128_112813444-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_20171128_112813444-1024x1365.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While the booklet is 12 pages long, the actual construction isn&#8217;t that complicated.\u00a0 It&#8217;s good that every step is laid out in detail because I think a younger child might have no conceptual idea of what a pinball machine should look like.<\/p>\n<p>As a child of the 1970&#8217;s, I\u00a0<strong>know<\/strong> pinball machines.\u00a0 So that wasn&#8217;t a problem for us.<\/p>\n<p>We placed the hard-plastic outer frame onto the backing.\u00a0 They are very easy to secure with the included brads.\u00a0 The obstacles came next &#8211; there&#8217;s a wide variety to choose from.\u00a0 You can even make rubber-band triangle bumpers to help launch the pinball in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n<p>There are no user-controlled flippers &#8211; this wasn&#8217;t unexpected from such a project.\u00a0 This makes the game more like a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pachinko\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pachinko machine<\/a>\u00a0(without the Japanese organized crime baggage). The pinball launcher is aimable which was a nice touch.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the project is to create geometric art for the pinball backboard.\u00a0 While the included stackable crayon was cool, my daughter has her own supplies so relied on them.\u00a0 I think this is a way to keep the project fresh because she can use the included backstops as a pattern to then use other paper\/cardboard for future designs.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we were able to play with the pinball machine.\u00a0 The goal was to get a high score by rolling over the point markers.\u00a0 This took some practice.\u00a0 \u00a0I should say, this took some practice for me &#8211; my daughter seemed to be a natural.\u00a0 She schooled me early and often and had a fun time doing it.<\/p>\n<h3>What We Liked The Best<\/h3>\n<p>The instructions were really well done.\u00a0 They were written clearly and organized logically.\u00a0 This is a must-have feature for a product where the child can work on projects mainly by themselves.\u00a0 The KiwiCrate exceeds this bar.<\/p>\n<p>You can feel the quality of the pieces included in this activity.\u00a0 The border, backing, and pinball parts were top-notch. I don&#8217;t see anything breaking in this set for quite some time.<\/p>\n<p>The time to completion was right on the money.\u00a0 Since this subscription delivers monthly, you&#8217;d like to have the activity take enough time to make it feel like it&#8217;s worth the money.\u00a0 Our Pinball Machine crate succeeded in that regard. Both I and my daughter agreed this feels like a good value.<\/p>\n<h3>What Would We Change?<\/h3>\n<p>While there were no major complaints, my daughter did wish this project made an actual pinball machine &#8211; with flippers and everything.\u00a0 I explained that adding those would make the project more complicated, but we probably could rig something up ourselves if she really wanted to.\u00a0 Stay tuned- I&#8217;ll include updates if we end up tackling that endeavor.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-button-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kiwi-crate.7eer.net\/c\/453182\/237953\/4034\" class=\"su-button su-button-style-soft su-button-wide\" style=\"color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#E74C3C;border-color:#b93d30;border-radius:12px;-moz-border-radius:12px;-webkit-border-radius:12px\" target=\"__blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span style=\"color:#FFFFFF;padding:0px 30px;font-size:22px;line-height:44px;border-color:#ef8277;border-radius:12px;-moz-border-radius:12px;-webkit-border-radius:12px;text-shadow:none;-moz-text-shadow:none;-webkit-text-shadow:none\"> Find Out More About the KiwiCrate<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Once again, thanks to our reviewer family for their work.\u00a0 The KiwiCrate is a fun, crafty activity kit.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a great tool to allow kids a means to express themselves artistically without much help from a parent.\u00a0 The items in the crate are well-made, and in general the kit feels like someone put work into the whole package.<\/p>\n<p>If you know a younger school-aged child that could use some fuel for their creative engine, the Kiwi Crate is a good choice for you.<\/p>\n<h2>Looking For Our Other KiwiCo Reviews?<\/h2>\n<p>We&#8217;ve created a guide for January 2024 that has all the available KiwiCo subscription boxes reviewed.\u00a0 Head on over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/kiwico-reviews\/\">here to read it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-box su-box-style-soft\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#b41909;border-radius:3px\"><div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#E74C3C;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:1px;border-top-right-radius:1px\">We thought you should know...<\/div><div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:1px;border-bottom-right-radius:1px\">We here at Fractus Learning wish to be as transparent as possible.\u00a0 We were provided one sample Kiwi Crate box in order to facilitate the review. Fractus Learning did not receive any other inducement to write the review.\u00a0 The opinions expressed in the article are that of our writers and editor involved in producing it. Fractus Learning will receive a commission for purchases of Kiwi Crates by users following our links. This does not cost you anything, and helps to offset our costs.<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If there is one thing that seems clear to me, children learn different subjects through different means.\u00a0 Some learn best by reading. Others absorb information better through video. Not every child wants to explore science through the front door.\u00a0 There&#8217;s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1375,"featured_media":49185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3733,483,2186,3734,3743],"tags":[1116589],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Bryan Bigari","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":3733,"label":"Kids"},{"value":483,"label":"Maker"},{"value":2186,"label":"STEM"},{"value":3734,"label":"Teens"},{"value":3743,"label":"Toys and Play"}],"post_tag":[{"value":1116589,"label":"kiwi"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/KiwiCrate-Review-Box-1024x768.jpg",1024,768,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Bryan Bigari","author_link":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/author\/bbigari\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":3733,"name":"Kids","slug":"kids","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4146,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":3732,"count":105,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3733,"category_count":105,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Kids","category_nicename":"kids","category_parent":3732},{"term_id":483,"name":"Maker","slug":"maker","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":497,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":3743,"count":60,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":483,"category_count":60,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Maker","category_nicename":"maker","category_parent":3743},{"term_id":2186,"name":"STEM","slug":"stem","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2599,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":3743,"count":107,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":2186,"category_count":107,"category_description":"","cat_name":"STEM","category_nicename":"stem","category_parent":3743},{"term_id":3734,"name":"Teens","slug":"teens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4147,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":3732,"count":44,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3734,"category_count":44,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Teens","category_nicename":"teens","category_parent":3732},{"term_id":3743,"name":"Toys and Play","slug":"toys-play","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4155,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":296,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":3743,"category_count":296,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Toys and Play","category_nicename":"toys-play","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":1116589,"name":"kiwi","slug":"kiwi","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5517001,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49057"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1375"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fractuslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}