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Just discovered "Kiwi Crates" via this post. As parent to a 4 and 3 year old = incredible find. Love the blend of simplicity (delivered w/everything) and still

by aresant 11y ago

Just discovered "Kiwi Crates" via this post. As parent to a 4 and 3 year old = incredible find. Love the blend of simplicity (delivered w/everything) and still meaningful construction. Anything else like this parents of HN can share?

icc97 11y ago
I found it a nice touch that they'd included 'Art' to turn the rather uninspiring (in my head anyway) 'STEM' into a rather more inspiring 'STEAM'.
- theoh 11y ago
  I think this idea came from RISD. If you have ever sat in college level classes in both the hard sciences and visual arts, the difference in the capabilities of the students (and of the teachers) is very marked. It's not that one set of abilities is better than the other, just a case of two self-selected groups. Even in a mixed field like architecture the focus is on formal (aesthetic) issues rather than rigorous conceptual/deductive thinking. In fact "critical" reasoning is just barely on the agenda and is learned and applied in an ad hoc way. Maybe a figure like Gaudi came close to being the ideal STEAM all-rounder. Whether we need more of his type I don't know!
- gohrt 11y ago
  Even better: METALS: Math Engineering Technology Art Language Science at which point we're back to "education is good" and we've cancelled the whole point of the STEM concept in the first place.
- gohrt 11y ago
  Even better: METALS: Math Engineering Technology Art Language Science at which point we're back to "education is good" and we've cancelled the whole point of the STEM concept in the first place.
imperialWicket 11y ago
Kiwi Crates (and Koala - haven't tired the older age targeting boxes) are excellent, our 4 and 5 year olds love them. The results don't have a lot of longevity, at least for the Kiwi crates, but they consume an afternoon+ and involve a lot of productive-feeling efforts. I have been thinking about genius box, the young scientist club, explorabox, and agent ribbit, too. There is so much overlap in a lot of these that it's difficult to commit to multiple without just ending up with duplicates. That probably wouldn't be entirely bad, but it's mildly annoying. Also, not all of these get down to the 3-4 yr range, but maybe something to think about in the context of the impending TinkerCrate subscription. http://www.geniusbox.me/ http://www.geniusbox.me/ http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/ http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/ http://www.explorabox.org/ http://www.explorabox.org/ http://agentribbit.com/ http://agentribbit.com/

by aresant 11y ago

icc97 11y ago

I found it a nice touch that they'd included 'Art' to turn the rather uninspiring (in my head anyway) 'STEM' into a rather more inspiring 'STEAM'.

theoh 11y ago
I think this idea came from RISD. If you have ever sat in college level classes in both the hard sciences and visual arts, the difference in the capabilities of the students (and of the teachers) is very marked. It's not that one set of abilities is better than the other, just a case of two self-selected groups. Even in a mixed field like architecture the focus is on formal (aesthetic) issues rather than rigorous conceptual/deductive thinking. In fact "critical" reasoning is just barely on the agenda and is learned and applied in an ad hoc way. Maybe a figure like Gaudi came close to being the ideal STEAM all-rounder. Whether we need more of his type I don't know!
gohrt 11y ago
Even better: METALS: Math Engineering Technology Art Language Science at which point we're back to "education is good" and we've cancelled the whole point of the STEM concept in the first place.
gohrt 11y ago
Even better: METALS: Math Engineering Technology Art Language Science at which point we're back to "education is good" and we've cancelled the whole point of the STEM concept in the first place.

imperialWicket 11y ago

Kiwi Crates (and Koala - haven't tired the older age targeting boxes) are excellent, our 4 and 5 year olds love them. The results don't have a lot of longevity, at least for the Kiwi crates, but they consume an afternoon+ and involve a lot of productive-feeling efforts. I have been thinking about genius box, the young scientist club, explorabox, and agent ribbit, too. There is so much overlap in a lot of these that it's difficult to commit to multiple without just ending up with duplicates. That probably wouldn't be entirely bad, but it's mildly annoying. Also, not all of these get down to the 3-4 yr range, but maybe something to think about in the context of the impending TinkerCrate subscription. http://www.geniusbox.me/ http://www.geniusbox.me/ http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/ http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/ http://www.explorabox.org/ http://www.explorabox.org/ http://agentribbit.com/ http://agentribbit.com/