Another month, another cool box from KiwiCo. This time, for our fourth KiwiCo Tinker Crate, Kai and I worked together to build an absolutely amazing Glowing Pendulum. It’s a far cry from the previous boxes, which had us build Spin Art Machines, Walking Robots as well as a functional Crane and Pulley, but the clever application of science to create a fun plaything carries through. Also included were a few challenges and related facts through the TinkerZine that comes with each box.
I mentioned the previous experiment before, a Crane and Crank machine. That was a fantastic experiment that really highlighted elements of physics and how the change of direction of lifting force can make it easier to lift things. It was incredibly clever, and the accompanying document didn’t hesitate to explain what was going on and the science behind how it worked. With something like the Glowing Pendulum, a much more visual project, which dabbled with both UV and chaotic movements at play from the moment you slightly knock the powered-on pendulum, they really needed to double down on the info-element with the Tinker-zine. And they did; There’s loads of information on Chaos Theory in there.
A few previous boxes have actually used the box itself as part of the construction, that’s not the case with this one though. The first thing you’ll do is assemble the stand itself. It’s a pretty simple assembly this time around, with fewer pieces required for the complete project than pretty much any of the other boxes we’ve made so far. In fact, once you’ve got the stand folded in place it’s a case of taping a few fittings to the back and then putting together the swinging arm mechanism. It’s all pretty simple, to be honest, with as many fittings going into holding the UV light in place as goes into creating the arm.
Once set up, which really doesn’t take that long, you’ve got a standing display unit (which you will need to weigh down) complete with mounted light that when you knock, spins around in a chaotic manner. The UV Light leaves a green trail across the card, and it’s nigh impossible to get the light to follow the exact same path due to the extra movement that comes from the arm connection.
As before, the Tinker Zine comes in at this point. I’ll say what I said before, these are really a major part of the bundle and I feel like they should be more central to the package as a whole – maybe having the booklet and the instructions combined would solve this. As ever, this one is fantastic, talking about other times when we see chaos theory in action, and where we can see it in concept.
Kai and I both remain really excited about what’s going to come in the next box from KiwiCo. This is probably one of our longest-running subscriptions now, and we’ve not even thought about cancelling it down yet. It’s a really fun way to learn about the science all around us, and you essentially build a science toy at the same time.
I wish we could get these boxes here. They all look so amazing!!
Aww it’s a shame you can’t. :/
I think boxes like this are great at sparking imagination. I know my kids would enjoy something like this.
I bet they would too – these are such good kits.
That’s so interesting. Something great for the littles to make that isn’t typical.
It is, and such a good learning tool as well.
I have heard so many great things about KiwiCo Crates and they are perfect for kids who love to learn and create. I’m sure my daughter would love the glowing pendulum experiment.
It is such a lovely kit and I am sure your daughter would have a great time.
This looks like so much fun! My boys would have a great time building these.
It is such a fun kit!
I heard about this from another mother and I was so excited to try it. Our daughters just a little bit too young yet, but this is something we are definitely going to subscribe to. It looks like so much fun.
I hope they get the chance to enjoy KiwiCo!
That is great that science is used to help understand how to make things. Sounds like an awesome product!
We really enjoy these kits!
I’ve heard about these crates. They’re so great for kids, and I’m glad that you all enjoyed it. How fun!
We really love them in our household!
I would really love that box. Thanks for the amazing review!
It is such a lovely kit.