- A high-quality kids’ crafting kit includes everything you need for the activity, keeps your child engaged, and teaches them skills they can use throughout life.
- I like the GoldieBlox maker kits because they brought my entire family together for crafting, produced useful items, and provided opportunities for deeper learning.
- Though they’re more expensive than most craft kits (currently starting at $24.99 on Amazon), they are made of high-quality materials and feature everything you need to complete your project (aside from batteries).
One of the biggest challenges I have as a parent is getting my sons to step away from their screens. I’ve found the key is to find an activity that challenges them, has an end goal, and produces something they value. The GoldieBlox Maker Kits from Make It Real fit these criteria.
Based in Maryland, Make It Real’s goal is to bring beautiful, compelling products to tween girls throughout the world. As a subsidiary, GoldieBlox seeks to empower girls and give them skills for the future with STEAM (science, tech, engineering, art, and math) maker kits, books, and videos.
GoldieBlox currently offers eight kits. Each project comes with additional information that will guide your youngster if they’d like to learn more or enjoy similar projects. The kits are also supported by a full library of videos that provide crafting ideas using common household items or guidance in putting together the GoldieBlox maker kits.
Though the kits are designed for girls, I teach my sons not to get caught up in gender norms. So my wife and I recently tested four of the kits with our kindergartener, Bucky. Here are our experiences with them.
GoldieBlox DIY Floating LED Cloud Light Kit
The Floating LED Cloud Light comes with a nylon lantern, lights, polyester fiber filling, foam glue, plenty of decorative elements, and a remote control you can use to change the colors of the LED. Assembling the Cloud Light was labor-intensive. It took about half an hour of work to get to the point where the glue holding the cotton to the light was drying.
Next, we added the dangling raindrops, which was a frustrating task. The glue provided did not hold the raindrops to the string. So we turned to superglue, which was only marginally better. Soon after we finished, the face on the cloud started falling off.
Despite these negatives, Bucky loves the Cloud Light. It now serves as his night-light. My wife and I also enjoyed spending time working on the kit with him. Before you get started with this project, make sure you have one CR2032 and three AAA batteries on hand since they are needed for the project but not included.
GoldieBlox DIY Slumber Party Movie Night Kit
The Slumber Party Movie Night Kit comes with an array of items that are sure to help a sleepover pop off. It features sleep masks, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, popcorn boxes, and a cardboard smartphone projector.
We chose a cold, rainy day to play with the Slumber Party Kit. The whole family, including our teenager, stayed in pajamas all day and worked on different parts of the kit. Everything came together seamlessly, except for the speaker. We had trouble getting it to work correctly due to a loose wire. Try as we might, we couldn't get it to hook up correctly.
Also, the images cast by the projector weren't clear or particularly large - we ended up just watching a movie on our Epson projector. However, the experiment with the projector did show Bucky how convex lenses and projectors work.
Despite the negatives, the kit kept us entertained for about 45 minutes, and the popcorn boxes and sleeping masks proved useful. Bucky still sleeps with his mask on.
GoldieBlox DIY Glowing Unicorn Pillow Kit
The Glowing Unicorn Pillow Kit teaches kids how to sew and lets them decorate their light-up pillow however they want. The kit comes with precut fleece and felt pieces, an array of beads, fabric stickers, color-changing light string, a sewing kit, polyester filling, and more.
I started working on the pillow with Bucky and quickly realized that most of the steps were not age-appropriate. After I spent half an hour sewing the horn, I needed to call in the big guns: my wife. The project still took her a long time, but it went much faster with her sewing machine. Bucky still had fun helping out where he could, and the finished product is cute.
Based on my experience, the Glowing Unicorn Pillow Kit is a great option for children 8 and up who can focus on projects for long periods. Otherwise, they will likely need the help of an adult who has sewing experience.
The bottom line
The kits are incredibly cute and feel well-made. Plus, the projects are designed to keep your child entertained for long periods. And it lures them away from screens, though you may want to check out some of the supporting YouTube videos.
I'd put the ideal age range for these kits at between 8 and 13. If your child has the patience, skills, and interest in crafting, they will love these kits. However, when they get closer to their teens, they may develop the "too cool" attitude and projects like these will be considered "babyish." Though the company specifically states that the kits are for girls, there's no reason other genders couldn't enjoy them. Other than these gender and age concerns, I think the kits provide excellent value. You get a lot for what you pay for.
Overall, I'd recommend the GoldieBlox Kits. They're unlike anything I've tested before, and the whole family had a great time working on them. If you have a youngster who is particularly fond of unicorns and you want to teach them how to sew, the Glowing Unicorn Pillow is a must. If improving your child's room decor is a priority, the Cloud Light will get the job done. And you can make the next sleepover you host more memorable with the Slumber Party Movie Night Kit.
Pros: Teaches kids useful STEAM skills, affordable, high quality, easy-to-follow instructions, opportunities for additional learning
Cons: Kits didn't always work correctly, requires patience and focus
Shop all GoldieBlox kits on Amazon.