We all know at this point how “different” (to put it lightly) 2020 has been. More kiddos are learning from home and parents are working from home too. Whether your little one is spending less time in school and you’d like to supplement their learning or just looking to give them a great learning craft project to do, KiwiCo and Superpower Academy both offer hands-on activities on science, art, STEM and STEAM delivered to your door monthly.
I decided to enlist my little sister Elise for this review to test out both the Kiwi Crate from KiwiCo and the Superpower Academy “Welcome Box”. She’s helped me with other reviews as well, like testing out the children’s book subscriptions Bookroo & My First Reading Club. Even letting me dress her up with the kid’s clothing boxes KidPik & StitchFix Kids. So you could say she’s my little partner-in-(review)-crime over here on Subscription Box Showdown.
So, both KiwiCo and Superpower Academy are great options for kid’s STEM craft subscription boxes, but let’s get into which box won us over.
Let’s see which box wins this Showdown!
$19.95
- Coupon: 30% OFF 1st Box With Code: LEARN30
- Shipping: FREE U.S. Shipping
- Countries Shipped To: U.S., Canada, International
- Frequency: Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-Annually, Annually
- Referral Program: YES
- Product Type: Education
$33.00
- Coupon: 10% OFF 1st Box With Code: SUPER10
- Shipping: FREE U.S. Shipping
- Countries Shipped To: U.S. & Canada
- Frequency: Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-Annually, Annually
- Referral Program: NO
- Product Type: Education
The Low-Down On This Showdown
Before we get to the showdown, here’s a little background on what KiwiCo & Superpower Academy boxes are:
Contender #1:
KiwiCo
What is KiwiCo?
Firstly, for this review I opted for the Kiwi Crate, which is just one of many educational activity boxes offered by KiwiCo. Each “crate” provides hands-on STEM, STEAM, and science and art activities. These crates were designed by expert educators, engineers, makers, and even actual rocket scientists! Then these crates are tested by children just like your little one, so you know that each box is fun and engaging.
I picked the Kiwi Crate, as it was the box recommended for the age I was looking for. You can always take a look at the other boxes they offer based on your child’s age and interest!
What You Get In Your Box
Every Kiwi Crate includes 1 – 2 large or 2 – 3 small themed and hands-on projects, an instruction booklet, Explore! Magazine, and online DIYs.
Types of Boxes
- Kiwi Crate – This crate is for kids ages 5 – 8, and strives to build children’s creative confidence through STEAM projects.
- Other KiwiCo Boxes
Price
$19.95 / month + Free U.S. Shipping
Pre-Paid Frequency Options
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- Bi-Annually
- Annually
Referral Program
For every friend that you invite to try a KiwiCo crate, you both get a $10 credit. For every 2 friends you refer, you get a free crate! So the more friends that you invite to KiwiCo, the more free crates you get.
Other Cool Features
- There is a deluxe subscription option that you can choose to upgrade your regular subscription. For an extra $9.99, a book based on each month’s crate theme will be added to your box.
- KiwiCo has an online store, where you can purchase single crates, classroom packs, party packs, holiday-themed crates, and individual projects.
- Fun opportunity to earn digital stickers by completing tasks. When you’ve collected enough, you get free money towards a gift. The tasks were so simple, that by the time I completed my first order, I had already had enough stickers to get $5 off a special gift!
Contender #2:
Superpower Academy
What is Superpower Academy?
Superpower Academy is a kids educational activity box for ages 5 – 10, that focuses on combining STEM and Social & Emotional Learning and Literacy by empowering them to become superheroes in life. This box teaches children how to not give up and manage their emotions to deal with their feelings. By providing hands-on projects, kids will learn healthy skills to be successful in life.
What You Get In Your Box
Each Superpower Academy box comes with a main “secret mission” with hands-on projects, comic book/stories of real life heroes, and a parent magazine with science and tips. As a new subscriber, you will receive the “Welcome Box” first that comes personalized with your child’s name in a welcome letter. After that, boxes follow a sequential themed series.
Types of Boxes
- Superpower Academy 5 – 7 Age Box – This box is designed for children ages 5 – 7.
- Superpower Academy 8 – 10 Age Box – This box is designed for children ages 8 – 10.
Price
$33.00 / month + Free U.S. Shipping
Pre-Paid Frequency Options
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- Bi-Annually
- Annually
Other Cool Features
- Offers a gift option for 3, 6, or 12 month prepaid plans.
ROUND 1
Sign-Up & Canceling
In this first round, i’m going to compare the sign-up and canceling process for both KiwiCo and Superpower Academy. I didn’t have any issues in this round with either one of the boxes, which was great! But, it made it a little more difficult to pick a winner.
KIWICO
Signing up for KiwiCo was easy and very interactive. You first start off by customizing your box by entering the name of your child. Their KiwiCo crate will be addressed to them. How cool! Then you can select the age of your child so KiwiCo can recommend the best crate for you. There’s an option to skip this if age doesn’t matter with what box you want.
As there is some overlap with age on some of the boxes, I could either try the Atlas Crate for 6 – 11 year-olds that focuses on geography or the Kiwi Crate for 5 – 8 year-olds that focuses on STEM.
If a certain crate doesn’t end up working out for you, you can always switch crate lines without having to sign up for a new account.
You then select your box frequency and can choose to add another subscription (for multiple children) or choose to upgrade to the deluxe subscription. Lastly, you’ll fill out your shipping and billing information and you’re done!
There is a gift option as well. KiwiCo calls these “termed subscriptions”, meaning you prepay for either a 3, 6, or 12-month subscription. These subscriptions are non-renewing, so after the term is up it won’t auto-renew. Keep in mind that this is different than the regular 3, 6, or 12-month renewing subscription.
Shipping was about a week. I ordered on Sep. 25th and received Oct. 3rd.
With the canceling/returning process, canceling is made easy by going into your account. You can always pause the subscription as well to skip a month at a time. If you want to pause longer, you can contact the KiwiCo Customer Care team.
Two important things to note:
- If you opted for a regular prepaid 3, 6, or 12-month subscription, canceling won’t stop the remaining crates in your plan and can’t be refunded. But you can cancel to stop the subscription from renewing after that.
- Like the renewing prepaid subscription, if you got the gift/non-renewing subscription instead, you also can’t cancel or be refunded the rest of the term period.
If you want to cancel because the box wasn’t right for you or just want to try something different, you can always switch to a different crate in the KiwiCo line within your account.
KiwiCo doesn’t accept returns on subscription crates, but if you encounter an issue with your crate like damaged items or missing instructions, you can email the KiwiCo Customer Care team.
*Remember to get 30% off your 1st box with code: LEARN30
SUPERPOWER ACADEMY
Sign-up was incredibly easy. Simply select your frequency, box type, and enter shipping information. Every first time subscriber gets the Welcome Box, so there is no specific box type to choose.
Shipping for Superpower Academy was also pretty timely. I ordered on Sep. 26th and received Oct. 2nd.
As far as the canceling/returning process, with Superpower Academy you can cancel renewal subscriptions or skip a month within your account. You can also change to the 8 – 10 year old box if your child needs to transition to the next age appropriate box.
*Remember to get 10% off your 1st box or gift with code: SUPER10
Winner: KiwiCo
Sign-up was pretty simple for both boxes, but I enjoyed the opportunity to select different kinds of boxes, multiple subscriptions, and the ability to earn credit from completing easy tasks and referring friends.
ROUND 2
Value & Quality
In this round, I’ll compare the value and quality of both KiwiCo and Superpower Academy. One box seemed well-thought-out and had nice quality pieces to it.
KIWICO
We got the “Arcade” themed Kiwi Crate this month. We got to craft and build an awesome handheld arcade claw.
Starting off, it should be said that Elise is 6 years old and wasn’t able to read the instructions on her own, which is understandable. Because of this, I had to read through each step and explain it to her in a simpler way of what she had to actually do. I did really like that they took into account that some children are visual learners, so they had detailed and easy to understand illustrations/pictures of each step. This was great so Elise could actually visualize what was being said and follow along.
During the crafting process, I would wait for her to attempt the step and correct her if she didn’t understand the directions or was doing it incorrectly. Although it was very hands-on on my part, I think it provided a valuable learning lesson doing it this way.
After about an hour, we had completed the main craft.
Moving on to the second project, we made two pom-pom “monsters” to grab with the new arcade claw we just created. This activity kept her busy for awhile as she had to wrap an entire small skein of yarn to create these little monsters. Also, with this craft we did have to use adult scissors to cut the pom-pom monsters, as her kid’s scissors just weren’t cutting it…bad pun alert.
Lastly, this Kiwi Crate included instructions to make an actual arcade game from the box itself. This was an extra project to use with the other items that were crafted. This activity was optional, as the box didn’t come with some of the materials needed. We had the items needed around the house like a Ziploc bag and tape, so this wasn’t an issue. We created a “Claw Game Box” to put the pom-pom monsters and any other toys in. This allowed Elise to use her claw like an actual arcade game!
Some things to note about this box were that it was cool that they provided a small wooden wrench necessary to tighten the bolts, but it just didn’t work for us. It was also hard to tell if the bolts were tight enough because they never felt quite “secure”. Also, I really liked that they provided extra pieces, just in case your little one lost a piece during crafting.
SUPERPOWER ACADEMY
We got the “Welcome Box” from Superpower Academy. It comes with an extra special secret audio message from your superpower mentor “The Coy”. You also get a personal note initiating your little one into the Superpower Academy.
The steps in the instructions for this box were mostly pictures so it was great for visual learners. Even so, I think it was still missing a little more explantion with some of the steps.
This was the final craft. You also have extra pieces to make a different type of paper plane to see the difference in how they fly. The superpower kit also came with a tape measure to measure the distance that the plane goes when you test it.
Even though Superpower Academy emphasizes teaching emotional skills as a main focus of their box, the only part of the project that focused on that aspect were activities in the booklet.
All in all, this project just ended up feeling like a glorified paper plane you’d make in science class. Elise seemed a bit disinterested in completing it, especially after having fun making the craft from the Kiwi Crate.
Winner: KiwiCo
The Kiwi Crate project felt more thought out and pieces were good quality. I can tell that the craft from KiwiCo will last much longer than the one from Superpower Academy.
ROUND 3
Overall Experience
It should be said that both of these boxes can be perfect for you if you’re wanting a hands-on craft box to do together with your child. But depending on your situation or your child’s age, these boxes probably aren’t the best if you have a little one that doesn’t know how to read well on their own or you’re just looking to leave them to their own devices. So please keep that in mind.
KIWICO
Things I Liked:
- Project was a very creative and unique concept.
- Small side activities to add to the main project you created. This added more value to the box.
- Instructions were good for both visual and reading learners.
- Extra pieces provided to complete craft if you misplace anything from the box.
- Price is very reasonable for a craft box like this.
Things I Didn’t Like:
- Was more hands-on than I was expecting. Seemed as if I was doing a lot of the project myself.
SUPERPOWER ACADEMY
Things I Liked:
- Main concept of being a superhero and completing missions is a fun idea.
- The “initiation” into the Superpower Academy with the special audio message and personal letter was a nice touch.
- Added emotional and social learning skills to their STEM box.
Things I Didn’t Like:
- Project theme was somewhat uninspired.
- Overall box theme wasn’t incredibly apparent. Elise didn’t understand the correlation between being a “superhero” and making an airplane.
- We were a little bored creating it and using the project after.
- As with KiwiCo, this box aws more hands-on than I was expecting and I was doing a lot of the main pieces of the project.
Winner: KiwiCo
The project in the KiwiCo box was just way more exciting to create.
VERDICT
Worth It?
Overall, we really enjoyed our experience with KiwiCo, but there were reasons to try both these STEM craft subscription boxes.
KIWICO
Would I try again: Yes
Bottom Line: KiwiCo is a great STEM craft box option with a reasonable price and fun project concepts.
SUPERPOWER ACADEMY
Would I try again: Maybe
Bottom Line: The “Welcome Box” wasn’t the greatest start to getting a feel for the Superpower Academy box. I think I’d need another month to decide if it’s a good fit or not.
Overall Winner: KiwiCo
Let me know which Kids STEM Craft subscription you would go with in the comments! Also take a look at 10 Best Kids Book Subscription Boxes and 6 Best Kids Cooking Subscription Boxes. As always, please follow me on my social media channels. I’d love to connect with you!
*Disclaimer: My opinion of these products are always 100% truthful! The views/opinions expressed on this post are that of my own, derived from my own personal research and in no way is meant to be a negative or defamatory reflection on any company mentioned herein. Also, my experience may differ from yours.
