Coding & App Development and Astronomy STEAM Kits Review
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Editor's Review
Inspire an early love of science with STEAM toys from Brown Toy Box. These kits were created as a way to empower brown and black children in science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Each toy features a character from the Dadisi Academy Crew, which takes its name from the Swahili word meaning “curious”. Kids can explore coding and app development with Maya, and astronomy with Dre. Each kit features a character figure, foldable lab environment/play space, and activity book, along with other activities and play pieces specific to the kit’s theme.
The Coding & App Development kit comes with a coding logic card game with spinner board, a binary coding bracelet, a Maya character figure, a coding lab environment foldable, and an activity book. Kids will read about prominent African-Americans in math and programming, learn computer lingo through a crossword puzzle and word search, use the binary alphabet to code their name, and use the three bead colors to code a name bracelet. There’s also a card game that introduces kids to the concepts of loop, if/then/else, and assignment through fun activities that get kids talking and being active.
The Astronomy kit comes with a DIY telescope, a constellation mapping activity, a Dre figure, a space scene foldable, constellation ceiling stickers, an astronomy activity book, and a Dre puzzle. Kids will read about famous African-American astronauts, make constellations out of toothpicks, learn key words through a crossword puzzle and word search, put together puzzles, decorate their bedrooms with glow-in-the-dark stickers, and build a telescope.
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Should I get it?
All of these kits encourage kids to get hands-on with science concepts. It’s learning but it’s also a fun game or activity. Each kit also has different elements that make little kids feel like they’re a real scientist. And, of course, we like that these kits promote the achievements of African-Americans within the STEAM field, showing today’s youth that they can also grow up to be an astronaut like Mae Jemison or an inventor like Henry Blair. To get the most educational value from these kits, we’d recommend parents play along and guide kids through the activities.
