Science is one of those subjects that has always caught the interest of my children. Since they were much younger, we have done simple science experiments at home that have also doubled as sensory activities. Things like making ooblek, baking soda and vinegar reactions, elephant toothpaste, etc. Now that they are a little bit older I want to change things a bit. This year I’m going to start introducing science experiments that are still fun, but also get them really thinking about how things work. Several months ago I attended a homeschool convention here in Texas and stumbled upon BioBox Labs. I was immediately impressed with their subscription boxes, and jumped at the opportunity to review one. In this post I will share our experience with one of the BioBox Labs subscription boxes.
What’s Included
Each BioBox subscription box includes real science equipment needed to conduct the experiments. There is also a lab notebook with instructions and space to document the results, as well as access to a corresponding video online. Educators can choose the monthly, 3-month, 6- month, 9-month, or annual subscription. Prices for the subscription boxes range from $49.99 to $58.95 per month depending on the subscription option chosen.
Our Experience
As I mentioned, my kids love science and they were ecstatic to see the BioBox Labs box and the real science equipment inside. Given their age, The Senses: Our Superpowers box was perfect because they were already familiar with the 5 senses. I really appreciated the incredible quality of the materials in the box. There are no toys included, everything is the real deal. Our box included the lab notebook, a tuning fork, glass beaker, glass thermometer, cotton swabs, ear plugs, packets of salt and sugar, pins, a felt bag, and a small box of candy.
The instructions included in the lab notebook were simple and clear. The materials needed that were not included were all things that I readily had at home like cups and ice. The experiments did not require a lot of prep work. I was often able to do a quick read through in the morning, and felt confident to guide them with the experiments. I thought that it was great that there was information about how the senses worked, talking points, and a detailed diagram. My kids are very visual, so they appreciated the illustrations.
Simply put, we really enjoyed conducting the experiments. It was exciting to dive deeper into a subject that they already had familiarity. My kids were also so happy to use real science equipment. The length of time for each experiment is about 15 minutes which was ideal given their age and attention span.
My kids are 3 and 5, so there were a few times in which they needed quite a bit of help from me. I was prepared for this, as I knew that my kids are younger then the target age for the subscription boxes. Instead of writing, we had many discussions about the experiments and our results. I would imagine that the perfect age for the subscription boxes is around 7 and up. The amazing thing about the BioBox Labs boxes, is that most of the materials are reusable so we will be able to revisit the experiments when my kids are a bit older.
Final Thoughts
I was thoroughly impressed with BioBox Labs. We had a great experience conducting experiments. This was an awesome introduction into investigative science. We got to learn the “why” behind the way things work instead of focusing solely on the fun aspect. If you are looking for a way to incorporate Science at home, I would 100% recommend giving BioBox Labs a chance. I’m sure you’ll love it as much as we did.
