Like millions of people, our family loves watching Mark Rober and have seen plenty of the ads for his STEM toy subscription box company, CrunchLabs. I had a chance to preview a few boxes of the subscription, and I'm going to highlight each in its own post.
First I'm going to highlight the pre-subscription. When we got signed up, we got an email with a link to a video and a certificate to print. The video cleverly uses the certificate in a pre-box activity (although you can do it with any piece of paper) - a paper airplane. Although the video was brief, it managed to pack in a preview of the boxes, as well as an activity to get kids started thinking like an engineer. A paper airplane was a great way to start - even if though my kids are older, they had never folded a paper airplane quite like this one, and they enjoyed having a new technique. Mark's ability to explain things at a great pace while making it engaging and fun makes this subscription an excellent way to get kids excited about STEM concepts. As a teacher, I know it's a challenge to create something that will appeal to a wide variety of ages, but right off the bat, I'm impressed with how it's starting!
About Mark Rober & Crunch Labs
Rober is a former NASA engineer turned YouTuber with over 24 million subscribers who tune in to watch his creative engineering and storytelling. In June 2022, Mark announced his secret lab, CrunchLabs, and his exciting new products for kids of the same name. The build box subscription delivers original STEM toys (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and exclusive videos that entertain and teach STEM principles to kids ages 8-12+ and any kid at heart.
Each toy and related video is centered on a different engineering concept (or superpower) every month, which helps kids learn to Think Like an EngineerTM. The toys are designed to be challenging in the same way a good puzzle is complex. Illustrated instruction booklets are included, and the exclusive videos include a walk-through of each step. With the help of the video, the instruction booklet, and a dash of tenacity, kids can independently build, learn, and play.
Additionally, every month, one lucky winner will find a "Platinum Ticket" in their build box to win an expenses-paid trip for 4 to hang out with Mark at his secret lab. CrunchLabs is a massive, Willy Wonka-style factory of creativity in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the team creates each original, buildable engineering toy and the super fun (and science-packed) videos from scratch.
Learn more:
Fast Company - How Mark Rober became the Willy Wonka of engineering
CBS This Morning - How Mark Rober Makes Science Fun
Mark’s Links:
https://www.youtube.com/c/MarkRober
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