Letterbox Lab Explore Box, Box 1: Hidden Rainbows

This year we’ve been trying out a lot of different subscription boxes to keep the children entertained while our other options have been somewhat restricted by lockdown and Covid-19. We’ve done everything from nature boxes through to history-themed ones, but perhaps one of the most interesting offerings is the Letterbox Lab Explore Box, which we’ve been tinkering with over the last while.

Much like the Mysteries in Time box, the Letterbox Lab is sequential rather than based on the time of the year. So if you started a subscription today, you’d receive the first box, even if other people you know are much later in the sequence. There are twelve boxes in total as part of the Explore Box, with one delivered a month, and Letterbox Labs also do a much heftier Investigate Box if you have older children, or if you’re still interested in the magic of science once you’ve completed the Explore, 12-box run.

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I really like the sequential nature of this box, you’ll receive equipment in early boxes which can then be used in later ones, items like a magic wand (for messing with static) or a petri dish make early appearances in the sequence. In addition to this, because of how it structured it freely references back to previous boxes, and you’ll gain a sequence of ‘level-up’ stickers and certificates as your child complete each box. Each box contains 3-4 experiments, as well as instructions for them in a full-colour booklet that also dives into the science behind why each experiment works. There’re also links to online resources if the children are immediately curious.

The first month is themed around ‘Hidden Rainbows’, which is a brilliant name for what is essentially an exploration of light. There were a few tests in there which I remember doing when I was back at school, things like using Chromatography to separate the colours from ink and sweets, as well as an experiment where you spin a disk to understand how humans see colours when moving at high speeds.

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It was a really fun introductory kit, and Kai really enjoyed doing it once we finally sat down to do it. There’s an experiment inside where you put together a pair of glasses with ridged lenses. When you look through these your vision is altered due to the refraction of light, which makes for a really cool effect. He thought these glasses were excellent and kept playing with them for some time, possibly a mixture of pride and of them being cool.

A single explore box is £12.00, or you can make a saving by paying for a three-month subscription at £33.75. Intuitively, if you do pause your subscription or return to it after a while away, the company will pick up on where you were up to, so the kiddos can pick up where they left off. The Explore box is recommended for children age 6-12+, and, as hinted at by the company name, will come straight through the letterbox, so you don’t have to worry about delivery drivers leaving it out in the rain.