The Creation Crate does what the name says; it allows parents to introduce a STEM curriculum to their children (aged 12+) that is electronics and coding focused.
Other STEM-based subscription boxes are marketed towards young children.
This is because it’s important to get kids interested in these subjects early so that they have a solid foundation in the subjects going forward.
Creation Crate does one better and brings STEM to young teens; a demographic that is often ignored by the monthly subscription box market.
It’s not just creating these boxes for young teens. The Creation Crate allows kids to analyze, invent, and program electronic devices that they have constructed themselves.
All they need is a laptop and some Arduino software.
If you want your teen to have their own ‘lightbulb moment,’ find out more about this monthly electronics and coding subscription below.
Table of Contents
How Does Creation Crate Work?
Once you subscribe to the Creation Crate educational box home delivery, you will begin to receive a new project for your young teen to puzzle over every month.
You will also get access to an online course to assist in the understanding of the project along the way.
As your child begins to learn new skills and retain more information and knowledge, the projects will become more challenging.
More expertise will be added to the required skill set the longer the subscription is held.
Types of Boxes
The box contents and projects are perfectly aimed at a young teen who is too old for toys and still too young for more adult hobbies.
Every box contains the electronic hardware to complete the project and the programming aspect.
The box is sturdy enough to survive the shipping process without any of the components inside being damaged or lost.
When you open the box every month, each component is carefully wrapped in bubble plastic.
You will need to provide the laptop or computer required for the programming yourself. Arduino software needs to be downloaded onto the computer to complement the hardware.
The intended age bracket that the Creation Crate is aimed at is accurate.
Young teens of 13 and up will enjoy working out these projects, and a great feeling of accomplishment will be experienced after every completed assignment.
If your teen has previous electronic building knowledge, or if an electronically minded parent is on standby, any child who is engaged in STEM education will be intellectually stimulated when they receive a Creation Crate box every month.
If electronic projects are a relatively new skill in the household, there is a convenient instruction pamphlet included in the box. It helps guide you and your young teen through the hardware set-up and programming.
If you hit a wall with any common errors and missteps, there are easy to follow exercises where you can backtrack and see where things went wrong.
If this is not enough to help you both through the difficult parts, you can simply access project support on the Creation Crate website.
In case of losses or trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and breaking it, the crate comes packed with a few extra parts as well.
This comes in very handy during those times when a vital component is misplaced, and you don’t want to spend your time looking for it.
Some of the projects sent to subscribers by Creation Crate have been both interesting and rewarding, like:
- A mood lamp (changing red, blue, and green lights).
- Memory game (4 flashing LED lights that you must hit in the correct order).
- A mini boom-box.
- A distance detector.
Pricing
Creation Crate has a fairly bland company persona when you visit the website.
They have posted the “Trusted by STEM.org” prominently on the site, but as STEM.org doesn’t concern itself with anything other than what scientific knowledge is being learned, this is not a recommendation for any other part of the Creation Crate process.
- You can subscribe to the Electronics Upgraded level that includes specialized hardware and software and a higher level of problem-solving, or
- Stay at the Electronics Standard level that has basic components and programming (if this is your first time with electronics and programming, this is the subscription we recommend).
Original or Standard Subscriptions
- 1 month is $29.99 per month + shipping costs.
- 3 months is $26.99 as above.
- 6 months is $25.49 as above.
- 12 months is $22.49 as above.
Upgraded
- 1 month is $39.99 as above.
- 3 months is $36.99 as above.
- 6 months is $35.49 as above.
- 12 months is $32.49 as above.
Company History
There have been frequent reports of no replies, missing orders, and other unfortunate activities like:
- tracking order numbers provided without mention of which shipping company it is,
- coupon codes not being honored,
- no phone number listed on the site,
- poor customer service, and
- the standard reply given by all communications with customer service is, “We have heard your complaint, and registered it with our division. We have responded to you via email. Please check your junk folder in email box”,
As such, we recommend you first try Creation Crate with only one order and go from there.
Alternatives
- Surprise Ride (by Fat Brain Toys) – Even though we think this company has fumbled with the name they chose, they have a cute, if a generic range of books and puzzles for young children.
- Bluum – One for the babies and toddlers with high-quality products for some sweet mom-and-tot fun.
- Boss Club – Entrepreneurship 101 for kids—who thought running a business could be such fun?
Pros
- If you can get it right, the projects are very rewarding.
Cons
- The instruction manual font is too small to read.
- You will need to download two programs onto the MAC if your household is an Apple one.
- The instructions can be difficult to follow because the diagrams are too small.
- Instructions are written by an engineer, not an educator.
- The programming language is case sensitive, but the instructions are not. For example, the instructions say “pinmode,” but the code should read, “PINmode.”
