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 $34.95/month or less with multi-month commitments. Shipping is free within the US. (They also offer a “mini mailer” for $18.50/month.) — For a limited time, you can save 20% on your first month with coupon code “WELCOME20“!
Let’s see what’s in our November 2021 Girls Can! Crate!
Everything was shipped in a bright red box with the Girls Can! Crate logo on top.
A peek inside!
November’s featured “fearless woman” was actually a group of women — the Apache 8 Firefighters. 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 to help foster the Apache 8’s bravery & gutsy-ness in their own children.
Activity Book
A 20-page, full color activity book included the story of the Apache 8 and how they overcame obstacles to become the first all-female firefighter crew on their reservation. It also included puzzles, games, experiments, and more. All of the activity instructions were printed in the booklet as well.
Challenge #1: Exploring Fire
The first activity had us exploring the science of fire and learning a few different ways to put one out. Materials included 3 tealight candles, a plastic bottle, a pipette, and a packet of fire extinguisher activator.
Part 1: What does a fire need to survive and grow?
We began by placing all 3 candles on a metal baking sheet and lighting each one.
Next, we were to put a small glass over one of the candles to see what would happen. (I used another candle I had nearby, which worked perfectly. 😉 )
Due to the lack of oxygen (which fires need to survive), the flame went out within seconds.
For the second candle, we filled a pipette with water and carefully dripped some onto the flame…
…which extinguished it immediately due to the reduction in heat, which fires also need to thrive.
We were then instructed to leave the third candle alone, letting it burn until it ran out of fuel (the wick).
Part 2: How do firefighters fight wildfires?
For the second part of the activity, we were to re-light two of the candles and pour the packet of fire extinguisher activator into a plastic bottle.
After adding 2 tablespoons of water to the bottle/activator (which caused it to bubble up), we were to place the bottle opening near the flame and watch what happens…
…it put out the flame! — The chemicals inside the extinguisher (citric acid & baking soda) created carbon dioxide gas which surrounded the flame and prevented it from getting enough oxygen to burn. Neat!
Challenge #2: Create a Fire Whirl
The second activity had us creating a “fire” whirl in a bottle to explore vortexes. Materials included a tube connector, 2 plastic bottles, and a dye tablet.
First, we filled one of the bottles with water and attached the red connector.
We then attached the second (empty) bottle to the other end and flipped it over so the filled bottle was on top.
At first we thought we did something wrong because the water wasn’t really moving… Turns out, the bottom (“empty”) bottle is actually full too — of air molecules. This makes it difficult for the water to quickly move through the small opening in the connector piece, so instead it very slooowly trickles down as the air and water switch places.
Next, it was time to make a fire whirl! We began by taking the water-filled bottle and dropping in the provided red dye tablet.
We connected it to the empty bottle with the connector, flipped the bottles upside-down, and quickly swirled them until a tornado-like vortex appeared. It took us a few times to get a good whirl going, but it was pretty cool once we did!
Challenge #3: Build a (SAFE!) Campfire
The last activity was to build a safe glowing campfire. Materials included 3 brown “wood” felt pieces, 1 tan felt circle, felt rocks, tissue paper, plastic cup with lid, a glue stick, and a battery-operated candle.
To begin, we needed to create our “firewood” by removing the backing from the self-adhesive felt sheets and rolling them up. Glue was applied to the edges to better secure them. (Though we did have to use additional, stronger glue later to really hold them closed.)
Next, we arranged the (self-adhesive) felt rocks around the tan felt circle to create a firepit.
To create our “fire”, we tore the tissue paper into small squares and glued them onto the included plastic cup.
All ready!
The campfire was assembled by placing the logs in a triangle over the firepit, adding the candle in the middle, and covering it with the “fire cup”.
We turned off the lights and were immediately impressed by the pretty glow of the “flames”. So neat! 😀
With all of the activities complete, we had officially earned our Apache 8 Crew collectible button. 
The November 2021 Girls Can! Crate box was a great introduction to fire safety and the brave women of Apache 8 who help to fight them. The girls are excited to put their “campfire” in their bedroom near their Christmas tree to make it feel like a real campout. 😉 — Remember for a limited time, you can save 20% on your first month with coupon code “WELCOME20“!
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