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 January 2020 Girls Can! Crate!
Everything was shipped in a bright red box with the Girls Can! Crate logo on top.
A peek inside!
January’s featured “fearless woman” was Nellie Bly — the woman who pioneered investigative journalism and took a record-setting solo trip around the world. 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 brave and bold (“plucky”) as Nellie.
Activity Book
A 20-page, full color activity book included the story of Nellie Bly and her amazing accomplishments. It also included puzzles, games, experiments, and more. All of the activity instructions were printed in the booklet as well.
Activity #1: Publish a Newspaper
The first activity had us creating our own newspaper. A pre-printed, 2-sided template included sections for an investigative article, a human interest story, cartoons, an advertisement, a current event, and more.
I probably shouldn’t have had my girls work on this right after school… After a few minutes of filling it out, they were anxious to move onto the next activity. We’ll definitely be putting this aside for their upcoming (second) winter break. 😉
Activity #2: Race Your Own Boat
The second activity had us creating our own racing boat and seeing how fast it can go. Materials included a wooden boat, paint brush, paint, a balloon, sail template, glue dots, and an apron.
The first step was to paint the wooden boat using the materials provided. Thankfully, anything that involves paint is an instant win over here.
Of course, it had to be done like a rainbow. We even mixed a bit of blue & red to make purple for the mast. Once complete, we left the boat to dry overnight.
The following day, it was time to set sail! First, we made a balloon boat by attaching a blown up balloon to the top of the mast.
We then placed it in the tub — please excuse our non-slip turtle friends — and watched it putter along using the air from the ballon. It moved further than we thought with one “tank” of air and it was neat to see it glide across the tub on its own.
Next, we turned it into a sailboat by attaching a paper sail to the mast with a glue dot. Since it had nothing to propel it on its own, we tried to blow on the sail to get it to move. We weren’t very successful and quickly learned that the balloon boat was MUCH more effective at making our boat “go”.
Activity #3: Build an Around the World Game
The final activity had us constructing an interactive maze game. Materials included a cardboard maze box base, maze insert, plastic straws, glue dots, and a small metal ball.
First, we needed to turn the maze base into a box by folding up the sides and securing them with glue dots at each corner.
Next, we cut the provided straws into 3 long pieces and 11 small ones using the red lines in the booklet as a guide.
We then added glue dots to the straws and secured them onto the corresponding spaces on the maze insert.
Once the straws were in place, we folded the sides of the insert and positioned it inside the maze base.
Finally, it was time to drop the tiny metal ball into the “start” corner and play the game. We had to hold the sides tightly, while tilting the box back and forth to move the ball through the maze to the finish line — without letting it fall through one of the many holes located throughout. It was a bit of a challenge at first, but we eventually made it all the way through!
Once all of the activities were complete, we had officially earned our Nellie Bly collectible button. 
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