Girls Can! Crate is a monthly subscription box that inspires girls ages 5-10 to believe they can be and do anything by introducing them to fearless women who made the world better.
Each box will include a 20-page activity book telling the featured woman’s unique story (as well as games, experiments, & more), 2-3 hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities related to her field, a creative play prop, a featured character trait that helped her succeed and 2-3 practical tips for parents to easily foster that trait, and more. The boxes are designed to encourage a love for STEAM, to foster creativity, curiosity, and support literacy development. With every box purchased, Girls Can! Crate donates 10% of the proceeds to nonprofit organizations working to empower women and girls.
Disclosure: I received this box for review purposes. I was not compensated in any way. All opinions are my own. Post may contain affiliate and/or referral links.
Subscriptions are $29.95/month or less with multi-month commitments. Shipping is free within the US.
Let’s see what’s in my April 2019 Girls Can! Crate!
Everything was shipped in a bright red box with the Girls Can! Crate logo on top.
A peek inside!
April’s featured “fearless woman” was Temple Grandin, the famous autism advocate and professor of animal science. An information card listed all of the activities in the crate and the order in which they should be completed. The reverse side included tips for parents on how to encourage Temple’s self-advocacy in their own children.
Activity Book
A 20-page, full color activity book included the story of Temple Grandin and how autism affected her life and how she improved the way we treat cattle. It also included additional information on autism, puzzles, games, recipes, and more. All of the activity instructions were printed in the booklet as well.
Activity #1: Create a Calm Down Bottle
The first activity had us creating our own “calm down bottle”, which would be used to help us calm down in stressful/anxious situations. Materials provided were a long plastic bottle, clear glue, and a packet of glitter.
The first step was to empty the packet of glue into the bottle.
Next, we needed to add the glitter. The final step (not pictured) was to fill the bottle with warm water until it overflows a bit to push out any foamy bubbles that may form.
Both of my girls LOVED shaking the bottle and watching the glitter swirl around inside. The booklet mentioned how watching the glitter fall slowly can help slow down your heart rate and breathing, thus helping you to relax. I tried it myself once the girls were in bed and it’s absolutely true! Watching the shimmering gold glitter & tiny multi-colored shapes move through the water is almost hypnotizing. We’ll definitely be utilizing this in future times of stress — and just for fun too. 🙂
Activity #2: Optical Illusion Room
The second activity had us building our own Ames Room. Materials provided were a cardboard template, “Temple cards”, plastic stands, and tape.
First, we cut the Temple card in half and placed them into the white stands. Next, I fold and taped the Ames Room, which you’ll see in the photos below.
We needed to cut the sides on the front flap of our shipping box and fold it down flat.
A “viewing hole” then needed to be cut into the back of the box.
The constructed Ames Room was to be placed into the box, roughly 5-6 inches from the hole. The two “Temples” were to stand in each of the far corners of the room.
A peek through the hole! — You can see the illusion of the Temple on the left being noticeably taller than the one on the right. Neat!
Activity #3: Engineer a 3D Bull
The third activity had us building a 3D bull. Materials provided were two sheets of pre-cut wood pieces, a piece number card, and glue dots.
The first step was to write the numbers for each hole and slot directly on each piece using the bull piece number card. My husband handled this part and quickly realized that there was no way our fidgety, impatient 6-year-olds were going to be able to tackle this particular project on their own. Needless to say, he became the head (sole) bull builder.
The girls worked on activities in the booklet while they waited.
Here’s the half-constructed bull.
And the end result! Sup, Mr. Bull?
Once all of the activities were complete, we had officially earned our Temple Grandin collectible button. 🙂
The April Girls Can! Crate gave me a great opportunity to teach my daughters about autism and what kinds of challenges are faced by those who have it. The 3D bull was a little more advanced for their age (or patience!), but they enjoyed the other two projects. The Calm Down Bottle was this month’s clear winner and we’ve all been taking turns shaking it up. 🙂
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