MEL Science is an educational subscription for kids (and adults!) that offers 100+ hands-on projects delivered monthly and 50+ digital experiences available anytime.
Every subject — STEM, Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine — has a recommended age range. When subscribing, you can choose subjects based on your kids’ age. Their STEM-based boxes (which is what I’ll be reviewing today) are geared towards children ages 5 through 10+.
Each box will contain a different science-themed project that will cover topics such as hydrodynamics, electricity, light & optics, human body, space, sounds, energy, and more. To help children better understand the scientific principals involved in each project, there’s also an augmented reality component of the box, which is easily accessed via the MEL Science app. This helps to bring the project to life and explain how everything works.
Disclosure: Box was received for review purposes. Post may contain affiliate links.
Subscriptions start at $29.90/month. — For a limited time, you can save 50% on your first MEL Science box with coupon code “ROSEBUDS“!
Let’s see what’s in our MEL Science Projectile Cannon STEM box!
Everything was packed into a colorful box with the name of the featured project on the side.
From MEL Science:
We all know the pain of trying to get a crumpled piece of paper into the recycling bin from across the room. Level up your skills with the “Projectile Cannon” set by MEL Science! Learn how launch angle affects an object’s trajectory, discover which angle is optimal for the farthest launch possible, and use the AR app to perfect your aim with interactive target practice!
The bottom of the box listed its full contents and what the project will involve.
You will:
- build your own toy cannon;
- explore projectile motion through a game;
- improve your aim!
You will learn:
- what a trajectory is;
- about angles and velocity;
- about parabolas in sports!
A peek inside!
A full-color booklet included all of the step-by-step instructions for building the projectile cannon, along with a component list, fun comic, operating tips, and more.
Mystery Planet Map
In the first box of your MEL Science subscription, you will receive your very own Mystery Planet Map. This detailed, fun map is dotted with transparent rectangles to add stickers to as you complete each month’s unique project.
The photo above shows everything else that was included in the box. More specifics are shown below…
Wood Pieces (to construct the body of the cannon) & Rivets, Stoppers, and Rubber Bands.
Paper Target
Loading Slot
Projectiles (ping-pong balls)
Augmented Reality (AR) Card and Map Sticker.
Time to get building!
My daughter spread out all of the materials and went to work following the easy-to-follow instructions in the booklet.
All of the wooden pieces easily snapped together without the need for any glue or nails.
The build also required rivets…
…and rubber bands. (All included in the box, of course.)
My (almost 12-year-old) daughter was able to build the entire thing on her own, so I just sat back and watched. 🙂
Almost done!
Completed and ready to launch!
Aiming for the other room with ping pong ball projectile in place…
…and firing! — I tried multiple times to get a shot of the ball flying through the air, but it was just too fast. (This little cannon has serious power!)
The AR portion of the project was pretty neat too. After downloading the app, you select your project/lesson and it guides you through the science of how it works. In the screenshot above, you can see the smaller AR version of the cannon sitting between the cardboard target and our actual cannon. You can control the AR version and have aim & hit various targets (also in AR).
The final step in the project was to attach the included sticker to the Mystery Planet map poster in the spot indicated in the booklet. — Mission complete!
The MEL Science Projectile Cannon was a great project for my daughter to tackle and accomplish all on her own. She had no problem following the assembly instructions in the booklet, which were incredibly straightforward and kid-friendly. The cannon itself worked exactly as promised and we were all impressed by how far (and FAST) the ping pong balls were launched throughout our house. Oh, and the AR component was really neat too! 🙂 — If you’d like to try MEL Science for yourself, remember to use coupon code “ROSEBUDS” for 50% off your first box!
Leave a Reply