Monkey CoCo STEM Box is a STEM-focused subscription box designed for children age 5 through 12.
Each box will feature two new STEM-based toys for your child to build on their own or with the help of an adult. You’ll receive a bag of components, a picture book, knowledge cards, and any additional required materials for each toy. Lessons and projects will range from light reflection, basic circuits, to electromagnetic induction and more.
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 $34.99/month or less with multi-month commitments. Shipping within the US is free. — For a limited time, you can save $9 on your first box with coupon code “HJcrjmM0“!
Let’s see what’s in my January 2019 Monkey CoCo STEM Box!
Everything was shipped in a colorful box with the Monkey CoCo STEM Box logo on top.
A peek inside!
A 2-sided “To Do List” was to serve as a checklist to keep track and check off each month’s toys as you complete them. — I received Month 3: Table Lamp/Crossing Fire Line for my review.
Two “Knowledge Cards” provided information on two of the concepts we would be learning about in this box — Series Circuits and Parallel Circuits.
A full color informational/instructional booklet gave additional facts about circuits and step-by-step instructions for each of the projects/toys in this month’s box.
Project #1: Table Lamp
The first project was to build a working toy table lamp. All of the required supplies were tucked inside of the little ziplock bag above. Materials included wooden blocks, glue, LEDs, a battery cell, a foam half-sphere, and more. Two sets of paints and paintbrushes were also provided.
The first step was to glue the wooden blocks to a square base.
Next, my daughter painted the foam “lampshade” piece while my husband went to work on the wires, circuits, and battery components.
Here’s the lamp with the LED in place and batteries installed.
And here’s the completed project! — It’s a little hard to see the actual light here, but if you look at the front edge of the “lampshade” you can see the subtle glow.
Here’s another look at it. Pretty cool!
Project #2: Crossing Fire Line
The second project was a Crossing Fire Line toy. Again, all of the required materials were tucked inside of a ziplock bag and included wood pieces, glue, wire, a battery cell, and more.
As with the lamp, the first step was to assemble the wooden pieces together using the glue. This was actually the only part my daughter really assisted with, as the rest of the steps were a little too involved for an impatient 6-year-old. That said, my husband was more than happy to take over. 😉
Here’s the completed toy!
To play, you needed to guide the eyelet at the end of the stick across the wire from one post to the other without making contact with the wire. The photo above shows it passing through without touching…
When the wire DOES touch the side of the eyelet, the little LED light at the base lights up (see above) and a buzzer goes off letting you know you’ve lost the game. It sounds easy enough, but keeping your hand steady is a lot harder than it looks!
While possibly a little too advanced for the average 6 year old, Monkey CoCo STEM Box is nonetheless a great way to get kids interested in STEM-based concepts. I liked how the projects served as both a learning experience, as well as a functional toy once completed. The full color booklet did a great job of pointing out how the various components worked and made sure to stress the importance of safety when dealing with electricity. The instructions could have been a bit more detailed (some were a little hard to follow), but other than that it was a fun experience. 🙂 — Remember, for a limited time you can save $9 on your first box with coupon code “HJcrjmM0“!
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