Discover Kenya – A KiwiCo Review: Atlas Crate for 6-11 Year Olds (Deluxe Box)

What is in the Kenya crate?

You begin by opening your travel mail from Milo and Anya to find out about their latest travel adventures! Miss 6 enjoys seeing all the photos in Kenya.

There is a passport sticker to add to our Adventure Passport and various cards about Kenya to add to it as well. These range from a country map and cultural information, to activity cards with things to do. Learn: some words in Swahili, about Amboseli National Park, the Maasai people, Nairobi’s colourful matutu buses, the soda lakes which create a sea of pink with millions of flamingos, and the many beautiful landscapes that Kenya offers.

Some of the books we enjoyed included:

Tree Time: Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya – celebrating Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win a Nobel Peace prize.
Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o.
Mama Panya’s Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya by Mary Chamberlin
My life in Kenya (Esther’s storey) by Alex Woolf

Want some additional learning ideas?

Have a go playing Mancala
Try making vibibi pancakes
Auckland Zoo have free teaching resources on African animals, animal adaptations and elephants.
Twinkl have a number of digital resources such as: learning about African animals and their adaptations; learning about Venn diagrams and sorting African animals by diet; how to draw an elephant; learning about African art; PowerPoint overviews of Kenya (here or here).

Make your own binoculars

Our first craft was building binoculars with real curved lenses; paper tubes allow some sliding movement to help find the focal point. These also come with some paper African animals.

These were easy to build and work well enough to talk about the science being demonstrated. Miss 6 felt frustrated by the visual clarity but it’s a good opportunity to gauge interest before buying basic child binoculars.

Make your own beaded wristband

In the past, Maasai women made beaded jewellery using seeds and dried grasses dyed in different colours. A complicated history means these are now usually glass or plastic. The jewellery can have special meaning based on its colours, designs, and intended use. For this project, some simple information is given on what colours can signify. Children then have creative freedom to create their own pattern and design.

HOW DO I ORDER ATLAS CRATE?

This is not a paid review. I spent a lot of time searching the internet to find out more information about the Kiwi Crate and Atlas Crate boxes before deciding to try them and found the blog posts / photos that people shared were really useful!

If you would like to try Atlas Crate (or one of their other lines), you can receive 50% off your first box by clicking here.

What I like about the Atlas Crate kits is that they provide a colourful and imaginative way of exploring the world through hands-on activities. I like that they use a mix of STEM and art to explore different concepts and ideas. Their products are also very well made, with clear instructions, and kids feel a real sense of pride in what they accomplish with each box.

There’s no obligation to sign-up in an on-going capacity so it’s easy to tie them in with birthdays / Christmas; the boxes are quite compact so they also store easily in a cupboard for bringing them out on a rainy day. Other families will choose to sign up for a longer period (like a 3, 6, or 12 month cycle).

WHAT IS IN AN ATLAS CRATE?

Each Atlas Crate comes with a special airmail envelope from Anya the Cricket and Milo the Sandpiper revealing where they’ve been on their latest adventure. There is a special passport sticker for your child’s Atlas Adventure Book plus seven new pages to add about a new country (highlighting geography, customs, landmarks, history, and foods).

There are supplies for two activities (which might be a mix of art, STEM, and games) as well as suggestions for more DIY activities to try at home – from things to make, to things to bake!

If you choose the Deluxe option, then you will also receive a book that helps you explore that month’s destination. This upgrade is an additional USD$9.95 (approx. $15 NZD) and can impact shipping costs as well. Since we’re homeschooling, I decided that we’d try the Deluxe option for 6 months to see how useful we find it.