Atlas Crate is a subscription box for kids from parent company KiwiCo. This box is designed to spark the curiosity and sense of adventure in children ages 6-11 and help them become citizens of the world. Each month Atlas Crate will deliver materials and instructions to provide hands-on experiences to help kids develop their sense of cultural awareness.
KiwiCo offers 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,
- Atlas Crate for 6-11-year-olds,
- Doodle Crate and Tinker Crate for 9-16+-year-olds,
- Eureka Crate and Maker Crate for ages 14 and up.
There really is something for every age with this company!
This review is of the $19.95/month Atlas Crate box, for 6-11-year-olds.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
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
Atlas Crate December 2019 "South Korea" Review
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The country we explored this month was South Korea and we received this envelope full of exciting information. I love the greeting in another language and the detail of the string closure on the back; it makes it just a smidge more exciting being able to physically open this! On the bottom of the envelope, there is a list of what is included in our crate and a fun Atlas Quest to complete using our newfound knowledge after exploring this month's country.
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In our first box, which was based on the world, we received an Adventure Book that contained cards for each of the continents and we are able to add to it each month as we receive cards for each of the new countries. They also provide a sticker for us to add to it as well which is a fun way to track our travels! Everything in this box is incredibly organized and nicely packaged making it easy to locate it all.
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The cards for our adventure book are bright, vibrant, and full of tons of information about South Korea on either side. I always enjoy the fun facts page and this month we also learned about Jeju Island which sounds like a great place to visit!
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While most of the pages contain information for us to read, there are always a few "do" pages that provide instructions on activities related to the country. This month they provided a recipe for Gyeran Mari which is like a rolled-up omelet and a lesson on how to show respect with a Jeol (bow).
Activity #1: Yut Nori
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Our first activity was to play Yut Nori which is a strategic Korean board game. They included some fun facts about the game on the back such as what all of the stick formations translate to in English.
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First, we had to add our stickers to each of our Yut sticks. Each stick got four X stickers and one stick also received an O on the bottom.
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They provided this fabric game board and four round game pieces for each player.
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Once we got our game set up, it was time to begin! We simply tossed the four sticks onto the gameboard and then used the instructions to help us determine which type of move we could make. My daughter landed all of her sticks facing up on the first try which means she got a "mo" and was able to move 5 spaces AND have a second turn. She was ecstatic, of course!
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This game reminds me a bit of the game Trouble because you can choose to try and get your first piece all the way to home each turn, or you can begin a new piece on the board if you choose. The goal is to get all four pieces home first. Most of the Yut stick formations allow you to move forward however many spaces depending on how many sticks are face up and how many are face down, but that O sticker facing up could mean that you have to move back one space. It is pretty simple and definitely a great game to take on the go since it has so few pieces.
Activity #2: Janggu
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Our next project was to make our own traditional Janggu drum. They included some facts about the drums on the back of our sheet and provided clear and detailed instructions for how to build it.
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First, we had to stretch the tops of these cut balloons around the tabs of this circle to form the center of our drum. It stretched around it much more easily than I expected it would! My daughter made me do the first one because she was afraid it would pop.
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They provided both a wooden mallet and a stick for us to use. We tested it out on our balloon.
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Then we inserted the red drum piece into the other larger wooden ring. Then we repeated these steps for the other side of our drum.
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Next we added six adhesive stickers to the lip of our blue drum bases.
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Then we stuck our red drum pieces right on top pressing tightly.
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Then we added a foam circle in the center of our two drums and stuck them on top of one another.
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We then used the string they provided to make a zig-zag pattern through the holes in each side of the drum. My daughter enjoyed pulling the string through for me to keep it tight. I tied the string in a knot once we made our way back around to the same hole that we had started in.
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We then folded up these yellow pieces and added adhesive to the marked areas on the tabs so that we could wrap them around our strings.
Once I added the yellow triangles around each set of strings, our drum was finished and ready to play!
They provided a few classic rhythms for us to try out and even some space to create our own. If we wanted to hear them we could even go to their website and give them a listen!
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Playing the drums proved to be a little trickier than we expected since it was sideways, but I'm sure the kids will get the hang of it in no time. I was pleased that it was a relatively soft-sounding drum and was just loud enough to hear the rhythms she created.
Verdict: We enjoyed learning about South Korea in this month's Atlas Crate box! This is a country that I don't know much about really, so it was fun to learn how to play a game and also learn a little bit about their culture. The kids enjoyed making the drum and I love that they included some actual rhythms for them to play which added a little more meaning and purpose to the activity. As for the box, it was well organized and all of the directions were clear and easy to follow, which always makes these boxes easy to enjoy, especially for a $19.95 (with free shipping) box!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? From KiwiCo:
Crates are assigned each month based on availability and your crate history - not all subscribers receive the same theme each month.
Check out all of our KiwiCo reviews and the best subscription boxes for kids!
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