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 October 2021 Girls Can! Crate!
Everything was shipped in a bright red box with the Girls Can! Crate logo on top.
A peek inside!
October’s featured “fearless woman” was Janaki Ammal — the first woman in the U.S. to earn a doctorate degree in botany and become recognized throughout the world for her scientific achievements. 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 encourage their children to be relentless in pursuit of what matters to them.
Activity Book
A 20-page, full color activity book included the story of Janaki Ammal and her many achievements in the field of botany. It also included puzzles, games, experiments, and more. All of the activity instructions were printed in the booklet as well.
Challenge #1: Make a Flower and Plant Press
The first activity had us building a flower press to dry and preserve them for display. Materials included 2 wood rectangles, 8 watercolor cards, 2 cardboard rectangles, 2 Velcro straps, and 2 clear stickers.
First, I sent the girls outside to gather some leaves from the trees/bushes in and around our yard. They brought them inside and arranged them on three different sheets of watercolor paper.
Next, we needed to lay the blank piece of wood onto both velcro straps, as shown above. (We later realized we had placed the straps upside-down and had to readjust. 😉 )
We then began placing the watercolor paper/leaves onto the press.
Each “leaves” layer was to be topped with a blank watercolor sheet and followed with a piece of cardboard.
Once all three of our leave layers were stacked, we placed the second wooden rectangle on top.
We pulled the velcro straps as tight as we could and then let the press sit for a few days as the leaves dried out.
On day three, we removed the straps to reveal our freshly pressed leaves!
So pretty!
The girls then selected their favorite leaves to create cool greeting cards/art prints. They used the included sticker sheets and carefully placed them over their sheets to permanently seal in the leaves.
After trimming the edges, their cards/art prints were complete! 😀
Challenge #2: Grow Seedlings
The second activity involved germinating seeds and observing how they grow. Materials included a wood stand, 2 test tubes, a packet of beans, and cotton balls.
The first step was to fill both test tubes with water and place them in the wooden stand.
Next, we dropped our beans into both tubes and allowed them to soak for at least 24 hours.
A few days later (we kinda forgot about them!), we retrieved the beans and poured out the water. We then placed three cotton balls (spaced apart) into each tube and added a bit of water for them to soak up.
The beans were then dropped in, on top of the cotton balls.
A fourth cotton ball was added on top of the beans with a bit more water. The stand was then set in a sunny spot where we’re currently waiting for the beans to germinate. 🙂
With all of the activities complete, we had officially earned our Janaki Ammal collectible button. 
My daughters both love nature (and collecting pieces of it!), so they really enjoyed the October 2021 Girls Can! Crate box. Their favorite part was pressing/drying the leaves and I’m sure we’ll be repeating that process many, many times. 😉 — Remember for a limited time, you can save 20% on your first month with coupon code “WELCOME20“!
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