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 December 2019 Girls Can! Crate!
Everything was shipped in a bright red box with the Girls Can! Crate logo on top.
A peek inside!
Although this wasn’t my first crate, I received a welcome note along with a free gift — a Girls Can! Crate tote bag. It looks like this is what new subscribers will receive in their first box going forward (the welcome gift was previously a pack of markers & pair of scissors). The bag is designed with 12 circles that can be used to hold the collectible buttons included in each box. Smart!
December’s featured “fearless woman” was Ella Fitzgerald — the First Lady of Song — who rose from a troubled childhood to become the first African American woman to win a Grammy Award. 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 help their own children to be as determined as Ella.
Activity Book
A 20-page, full color activity book included the story of Ella Fitzgerald and how her fierce determination and raw talent led her from entering small-time talent competitions to winning multiple Grammy’s. It also included puzzles, games, experiments, and more. All of the activity instructions were printed in the booklet as well.
Activity #1: Sound Wave Dancer
The first activity had us exploring the science of sound by building a “sound wave dancer”. Materials provided were a cardboard tube, a balloon, sticker, dancer card, and plastic game-piece stand. We’d also need scissors and markers.
To begin, we needed to color in our drawing of Ella. My daughter made sure to make the clothing the exact same colors as shown in the booklet. 🙂
Once colored, Ella needed to be cut out and placed in the provided plastic stand.
Next, we took the cardboard tube and wrapped a round sticker (with a small hole in the center) around one end and part of a red balloon around the other.
To make Ella “dance”, we pointed the tube with the sticker end in front of her and tapped on the balloon stretched taut on the other end. The tapping produced vibrations through the air — sound waves — that made Ella appear to move (dance).
Activity #2: Make Instruments
The second activity had us building 3 different musical instruments — a harmonica, a bell shaker, and a guitar. Materials included for the harmonica were 2 wood craft sticks, 1 orange rubber band, 2 red rubber bands, 1 sticky foam square, and a sheet of stickers. The bell shaker required 1 wood dowel, 1 wood cap, 1 ribbon, 4 bells, and a sticker sheet. For the guitar, we received 1 wood guitar body, 6 rubber bands, wood pieces, a sticker strip, strap, and stickers.
First up was the harmonica. We started by placing one sticky foam piece at each end of a wood craft stick.
We then placed a long rubber band over the first stick and topped it with the second stick, which we secured at both ends with more rubber bands.
The final step was to decorate the completed harmonica with stickers.
It didn’t make the most pleasant sound, but it did produce it nonetheless. 😉
Next up was the bell shaker. The first step was to slide the 4 bells onto the red ribbon, pushing them all into the center.
Then we just had to tie the bells/ribbon onto the included dowel and we were done! — Unfortunately, the cap at the top of the dowel didn’t fit quite snug enough and would fly off whenever the stick was shaken. A little glue should solve the problem though!
The last instrument was a mini guitar. We started by decorating the body with gel pens and colored pencils.
Next, we punched out two wood pieces and stuck sticky strips to each one.
We then secured both wood pieces to the guitar as shown in the instructions.
The final step was to add the rubber band “strings” and red guitar strap.
Mini guitar complete! 🙂
The box also included a plastic microphone, which looked like it required batteries (it had an on/off switch). Strangely, when we went to insert said batteries, we noticed that there were no actual contacts/electrical components to allow the batteries to give it any power. I’m not sure if this was intentional or what. So odd.
Along with the instruments, we received a 2-sided “Explore the Science of Rhythm & Sound” sheet to help us explore the science behind each instrument’s sound.
Once all of the activities were complete, we had officially earned our Ella Fitzgerald collectible button. 🙂
December’s Girls Can! Crate was one of our favorites! While the girls and I learned all about Ella Fitzgerald and worked on the projects, I had Alexa play us some of Ella’s greatest hits (yay, technology!). Although there were a few small hiccups (poorly fitting dowel cap, non-working microphone), we had a lot of fun. 😀
Hi Wendy, Thanks for the honest review. Although we do thorough amounts of testing on each crate and we’re proud of it by the time it leaves our hands, it’s always fun to hear what was a hit for some and what wasn’t. Interestingly enough, the mircophone seems to be something that has caused confusion for some. One of the things that we believe in at GIRLS CAN! CRATE is the power of play. And it’s because of this belief that we try to include a play prop in our crates whether that be a hat, a compass, an apron, or something else that relates to the featured woman. That’s why we included a play microphone with The Determined Musician crate. We ordered them from a company that makes real microphones, so the body of the one that we sent is the same as a real one, but the insides aren’t there. So, it’s just for make believe and singing your own hits. We hope this clears up any confusion. Anyway, I’m SO glad you all had fun learning about Ella Fitzgerald.
Thanks for letting me know! I thought that might have been the case with the microphone, but wasn’t sure. Thanks for clearing it up. 🙂