The Best Science Subscription Boxes for Kids

You want to encourage your kids to be more inquisitive about the world, right? Of course! Getting them interested in STEM subjects is one of the best ways to engage their critical thinking skills so we rounded up the best science subscription boxes for your kids.

Each of these boxes is a fun collection of scientific projects that inspire your child to explore and become creative problem solvers. They’ll educate them without them even realizing it since they’ll be having so much fun. Plus, it’s an awesome gift to get in the mail on a regular basis. Here’s our pick of the bunch.

Update, 10/24/21: Made sure products and links are still good. Updated pricing for each.

Best For Variety: KiwiCo

KiwiCo is a great place for subscription boxes for all age groups. From the moment your child is born, the Tadpole crate provides them with plenty of fun with that being expanded upon as they grow up. While the Kiwi Crates and Eureka Crates are awesome for some scientific fun, it’s the Tinker Crate that stands out most here.

Aimed at 9 to 16 year olds, kids are given everything they need to complete a cool science project each month. The box contains all the materials, along with a blueprint step-by-step instruction guide, and a Tinker Zine that suggests additional experiments and activities to join in with.

Projects include fun with slime, making dioramas or light systems, and learning to make a small rocket. It’s really varied so your kid won’t get bored. Month by month subscriptions for KiwiCo start at $15.95 per month.

Best For Older Kids: MelScience

Are your kids ready for more of a challenge? Buy them the MelScience subscription box. Aimed at 10-14 year olds, it definitely requires some adult supervision but it’s worth taking the extra time. You get 2-3 experiments each month that focus on one particular chemistry theme, with VR experiences filling in the gaps as well as more conventional descriptions. Each kit comes with all the chemical reagents you need, along with any additional components required, and visual instructions too.

It’s the kind of kit that’s best used when you both spend the weekend together working on it, with your child then able to learn more independently afterward via the MelScience website. It’s a good mix of practical and theory, so your child learns more each step of the way.

Subscriptions for MelScience start at $26.20 per month, and come with two to three experiments, a starter kit with reusable lab equipment, 40 VR lessons, weekly live classes with science teachers, and a VR headset thrown in for free when you start out.

Best For Independent Learning: Spangler Science Club

Some science subscription boxes require input from you—the capable adult—to help your child get going with their project, no matter what the age of your child is. The Spangler Science Club subscription box promises that minimal adult supervision is required except for the very youngest age group, and that aligns well with parent experiences with the different boxes.

Aimed at 5 to 12 year olds, the box contains everything your child needs to complete up to 5 simple but cool projects. Your kid gets to experiment with lots of things to do with physics and chemistry, in a way that doesn’t even feel like learning. Alongside the projects however are details on the real science behind everything so, in no time, your child will appreciate the importance of science in everyday life.

Starting at just $24.99 per kit, Spangler offers you 12 fascinating boxes that’ll educate and entertain your child. If you sign up for multiple months at a time, rather than just a one-time kit, you’ll become eligible for free shipping. The boxes include anywhere from five to eight experiments and challenges.

Best For Encouraging Critical Thinking: Groovy Lab in a Box

Groovy Lab in a Box goes one step further than most science subscription boxes. It offers up regular projects but also throws in a design challenge that requires kids to figure things out for themselves. It’s a neat way of ensuring that the knowledge they gain through following instructions, is then used critically to solve a problem elsewhere.

Its thinking is that children are natural engineers because they’re so inquisitive so it makes sense that they can figure things out fast, providing they’re given the right tools at the start. Each month, they’re given all the items they need like popsicle sticks, straws, and pipe cleaners, but it’s the lab notebook that makes it a great value. This 20-page notebook has all the information kids need to be guided through the engineering design process. It also provides information on the actual scientific processes they’re learning so they know what’s going on at all times, rather than just blindly follow instructions.

It’s perfect for the child that loves to figure things out rather than just be told what to do, and it’s sure to take up plenty of spare time each month. A month-by-month subscription starts at $24.95 a pop.

Best For Eco-Friendly Science: Green Kids Crafts

We all want our kids to have the best chance in the future, and that’s not just about educating them well. Leaving them with a world that’s safe to inhabit is important too. That’s why Green Kids Crafts solely uses eco-friendly materials for their projects.

Each month, you get 4-6 science-based projects along with a 12-page magazine that explains all. Boxes are typically themed and age-appropriate, so they’re immediately exciting for your kid to look through. The magazine contains other activities as well as puzzles, and a section for parents to look over. One month, you can be constructing a robot while another time you can be learning about safari habitats.

Kits are a little more arts-and-crafts-based than some other science projects here, but they ensure a well-rounded education for your youngster. Monthly subscriptions start at $24.95 per box, and you’ll have the option to sign up for either the Junior Box (for ages three to five) or the Discovery Box (for kids over five years old).

Best For Electronics: Creation Crate

Is your child fascinated by all things electronic? Buy them the Creation Crate and they can soon learn even more about how to take things apart, and how to put them together properly. Each project uses a mixture of engineering and electronic skills to teach kids how to make everything from a mood lamp to a memory game to even an ultrasonic sensor.

Creation Crate offers a few course options—like Electronics, Chemistry, and Mechatronics—as well as an expansion course titled Challenger Electronics. Have younger kids between 7-11? Opt for one of the two Junior Courses: Junior Robotics or Junior Engineering.

Starting at $12.99 per course, you can subscribe to the Junior Engineering course kit, which has simple materials for building structures and mechanisms, while teaching everything you need to know about energy and forces.

Alternatively, starting at just $29.99 per month, you can sign up for one of the standard course kits which teaches how to build electronics from scratch before programming them to make them functional. The other boxes get progressively more challenging, with kids building upon their previously learned knowledge.