KiwiCo Crates Review With Photos | 2025

Shrinking my 6- and 9-year-olds’ window of screen time has been a trial by fire process. Tears have definitely been shed — my own included — but I’ve found that fostering boredom at home is less painful when there’s a baseline of offerings. While our library card has earned every cent of our household’s tax dollars and our bin of Halloween costumes makes for some pretty inventive play scenarios between the two kids, I’ve been wanting to throw in a wild card that engages them in a different way.

I’d heard about KiwiCo — a monthly subscription service that delivers “super fun, hands-on projects” that come in the form of boxes, or “crates” as the brand refers to them — but had never tried them for my kids. With a budding artist who dabbles in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) and a history buff who devours non-fiction, I thought the KiwiCo Kiwi Crate ($24) and the KiwiCo Atlas Crate ($24) would be worth trying.

What’s The Criteria For a Good Kids STEAM Subscription Service?

When testing out this subscription service, I wanted to get a feel for how much independent play it actually fostered since both boxes were created for my kids’ exact age group. I also wanted to gauge whether my children were genuinely enthusiastic about the boxes. Would they be excited enough to get started without my prompting them? Or would I have to be the one ultimately doing everything while prompting them to join? I also considered the amount of shelf life each project got. In other words, after building the project, would they continue to engage with it?

What I Like About KiwiCo Crates Subscription Service

It turns out that the activities and projects you create are a genuine good time for kids and adults. Our first Kiwi Crate was the archery set, which I built with my 6-year-old. As you can imagine, it was a huge hit. We were delighted with ourselves when we saw that the bow we built functioned seamlessly. Instead of arrows, it comes with balls wrapped in velcro (phew!), and its accompanying felt board is double-sided. We switched back and forth between playing for points and feeding the googly-eyed monster by shooting into its mouth, which my 6-year-old loved. The thoughtful details that come with the crates, like the handy archery tips, archer glossary, and cut-out prize ribbons that celebrate milestones like making your first bullseye or pulling off an impressive trick shot, make the whole experience feel extra special. True story: once the kids went down, my husband and I shook up a martini and had an archery show down. I may have won.

Our first Atlas Crate, a geography and culture-focused box, had a Netherlands theme and couldn’t have been more charming. It came with a huge letter the boys could unwrap that revealed oversize, hole-punched cards that contained a beautiful map, fascinating stats, and even a crossword-inspired game to review everything they learned. The crate also included a Van Gogh-inspired yarn art project, a recipe card for Speculaas cookies (which we’re definitely making!), a DIY windmill, and instructions for traditional koningsdag games. This crate had a lot to unpack between the reading materials, cooking and gaming experiences, and the building and art projects. Unlike the archery set which we had created in about 15 minutes and immediately began playing with, this one was a slower burn. I spearheaded the reading portion, which ended up being a nice change of pace for evening story time, and the boys took the lead with the art and building projects.

What to Consider Before Trying KiwiCo Crates Subscription Service

If you’re like me, your first question might be whether these crates can be done without you getting involved. The honest (albeit annoying) answer is, it depends. Even though both the Kiwi Crate and the Atlas Crate are created to accommodate kids ages six and up, I definitely needed to jump in with my 6-year-old. He started off wanting me to be hands off, but then got stuck several times and needed my help. One thing that didn’t occur to me until after both kits were done is that you can scan the QR code in the crate and watch a step-by-step video of how to build the projects. While this may not have entirely let me off the hook, it might have given him a little more independence. My 9-year-old is less of a detail-oriented kid and has a lower frustration threshold, so I think personality-type matters just as much as age.

Who Is KiwiCo Crates Subscription Service Best For?

These crates are great for kids who like to create things with their hands and for parents who want to engage their kids in quiet, focused play. The nice thing is that they have a $30 monthly, “pay as you go” subscription option that doesn’t require you to subscribe for an entire year. It’s a nice way to test out some of the crates to see which one really sparks your child’s interest. After trying a couple of crates, I’m also planning on buying some of the items in their shop as birthday gifts since they seem to appeal to so many types of kids.

Additional Details

Where Is KiwiCo Crates Subscription Service Available?

The KiwiCo Crates are available to shop directly from KiwiCo’s website.

Rating:
★★★★☆

Angela Elias (she/her) (she/her) is a contributing editor for PS Shopping, where she reviews everything from beauty products to kitchen gadgets, curates can’t-miss sales, and creates “best of” shopping roundups. In her former roles at PS, she led the relaunch of its Latine identity and family-focused verticals, directed its Home vertical, and hosted shopping segments. She has nearly 15 years of experience working in the lifestyle space as a writer, editor, content strategist, director, on-camera talent, and publicist.