Disclosure: If you make a purchase through the links posted below, I may receive a small compensation. Read the full disclosure.
Disclosure: This complimentary box was received for review purposes. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.
Creation Crate
Cost: $29.99/month
Ships To: International (additional shipping fees may apply outside of the U.S.)
Coupon Code:N/A
Creation Crate is tech education-in-a-box! With Creation Crate, you can learn how to build electronics without any prior experience. Creation Crate projects are a combination of building hardware and programming software with a focus on helping you understand how it works. Each month, you’ll be given a new project that’s slightly harder than the last. Creation Crate is recommended for ages 12+, but isn’t just for kids. It’s for anyone who has an interest in building electronics.
Creation Crate ships via USPS on a monthly basis.
As soon as I opened this up I knew it was a box that would be better suited for my husband (B) and not for me (which is why this review is a bit delayed).
The March 2016 Creation Cratee project was a Mood Lamp.
~The Instructions: The booklet included comes with a TON of detailed instructions on how to build the project. I started the project on my own (that was a mistake) and wished that the pictures were a bit larger. B did say anything about it, but I could have used a little more detail or bigger images.
~The Materials: The box included all the materials necessary to build the mood lamp – with the exception of a computer. You do need to connect your finished circuit board to a computer. The USB cord is provided.
~The Building: B (and our almost 8 year-old son) started working on this together. It was a little too advanced for just L to work on alone, but he was SO interested in it. The first step was to get the hardware all put together correctly. This is the part that I wished had better / larger pictures in the instructions. You have to make sure you put everything in the correct places and everything is just so tiny!
Once everything is all put together it’s time to start on the programming. Again all of the instructions are included in the booklet and the download for the programming software is free. B had the most trouble with this step. There was a lot of details to enter (I’d guess it took over 30 minutes to get it all right), but he eventually got it all worked out.
~The Results: I wasn’t expecting this to work as well as it did. It turned out really neat. The lights brighten and dim and it really does change color!
Once we got everything put together correctly we loved this and were really impressed by what we built! It does take some patience though!
If you are interested in ordering Creation Crate, you can check them out here.
I love this. I was an electrical engineer and the photos make me so happy. Breadboard! Resistors! LEDs! I’m glad to hear that your son was so interested – even if it was a bit advanced for him.
They have some pretty cool electronic sets out there for kids – involving easier connectors and hundreds of projects. You can even make your own radio.
One day, I’ll geek out on this with my own kids. Can’t wait!
My son was fascinated! He loved being able to see everything and touch it all!
Thanks for this review, I am leaning toward getting this, and the details on assembly are helpful.