The Curiosity Box – Space

The Curiosity Box is a science subscription box that send you monthly boxes of themed science experiments for the whole family to enjoy. It costs from £16.95 per month plus p+p. Along with the experiments, you also build up a collection of science equipment to keep and use again.

Quick note: Usually my reviews of kids’ and family things show the process with me and my daughter, Little C. For various reasons we’ve not actually been able to do these experiments together yet. However I’ll show you everything in the box, and give my opinion as to how good it looks. Having done quite bit of stuff like this I think I can make a reasonable assessment! 

The box is pretty large, definitely not for the mailbox!

As well as the experiments, there are three cards inside.

There’s some cool information about the theme, and even a card about a real-life scientist!

The advice about checking the instructions before starting is very sensible.

Cool Comet Fizzers.

This is a nice messy activity! The comets are rather like bath bombs, only with extra dirt and rocks. You get the satisfaction of being hands on, and then, if bath bombs are anything to go by, the resultant fizzing effect when they’ve dried out will be fantastic! The instruction card tells you all about real comets too.

Astrospud. 

This experiment is all about testing insulating material. You get a proper grown-up digital thermometer (to keep!) to test water temperature. This is definitely a thoughtful experiment that requires some patience and care. Then at the end you get to dress a potato up as an astronaut! Again, lots of interesting background material about spacesuits on the information card.

Marble-ous Planets. Nice pun!

Now, while this experiment looks like a lot of fun, I couldn’t find a couple of bits in my experiment pack – the planet cut-out sheet and the black paper. Now as it happens I don’t think it’s too much of a problem, as we can easily cut out card circles for the planets and I’ve got black paper somewhere.

This is a nice artistic activity, and if it does what I think, it will look very pretty. It’s slightly frustrating not to have everything included, but this will have been a small oversight, and both items are easy to replace.

Well, these experiments look like terrific fun. I considered just doing them myself, but as Little C (my daughter) is very keen on both science, I figured I should wait until she’s able to at least help out.

The instructions are nice and clear, though there is definitely adult assistance needed, especially with things like boiling kettles. You also get extra information relating to the experiment subject. Each card is also punched, so you can stick them in a ringbinder folder to keep. I also think it’s fantastic to include things that can be used repeatedly. The thermometer is especially impressive!

The value, at less than £20 per month (less if you pack a longer subscription) is pretty good. It’s not cheap, but the experiments will take a reasonable amount of time to complete, and the equipment, instructions, and educational value are excellent.

Like I said, I’ve not actually tested these experiments yet. Having has a good look at them, though, I see no reason why they shouldn’t do exactly what they say they will. The comets look like they will be my favorite, as I love bath bombs, though I’ll make sure I don’t end up with pebbles in my bath!