4 Subscription Boxes and Activity Kits for Kids

We reviewed these subscription boxes and activity kits in 2022. The descriptions below preserve that experience; lineups, age guidance, prices and availability can change.

Subscription boxes for kids can turn the mailbox into a new activity, with options built around travel, art, science and culture. This roundup looks at four subscription boxes and activity-kit brands Famadillo reviewed for creative indoor play.

Little Passports

Little Passports does not really need an introduction. This is an established brand of subscription boxes for kids. Teach your children all about the world! Nature, Geography, Science, Art, and History, it is all covered by Little Passports.

They have a couple of different lines:

• Early Explorers (ages 3-5) explores the world’s wonders, from oceans to art to animals through hands-on activities, games, and stories.
• Animals Wild was listed for ages 3-5 in our 2022 review; Little Passports currently recommends ages 4-6. It teaches kids about animals through hands-on playsets, games, facts and activities.
• Space Quest was listed for ages 5-8 in our 2022 review; current Little Passports guidance is ages 6-8. It is a science-themed subscription built around cosmic exploration.
• Science Junior (ages 5-8) gives you creative, hands-on science activities that your child will love.
• World Adventures (ages 6-10), the current version of the former World Edition, explores a new country each month through hands-on activities, stories and games.

At the time of our review, Little Passports offered recurring plans with monthly deliveries. Current pricing, plan lengths, and cancellation options may differ from what was available in 2022.

Kids Art Box

I adore seeing my children be creative, and this lineup included both artist-inspired projects for older kids and activities younger children could do with an adult.

They have two types of boxes:

My Artist Box, which is currently designed for ages 6-18+, lets children get creative. Each month they get to discover an artist, learn about them, see their techniques and create beautiful artwork. Frida Kahlo, Virginia Sterrett, Matisse, Gaudí…all the great artists of history!

The Create Together Art Box is for children of ages 3 to 7 accompanied by an adult. Make some awesome things together. The boxes are centered around a theme like fall, traveling, farms, world cultures, and the rainforest.

Kids Art Box offered recurring subscription options when we reviewed it. Check the current site for today’s box formats, age guidance, and pricing.

Steve Spangler Science

The Steve Spangler Science boxes offer hands-on science activities for kids. Not technically a subscription, but they have so many boxes that you can easily consider it one! Get a bunch of them, and give your child a different box every other week, for example.

You can get individual bestselling kits, like the Magic Sand kit, the Insta-Snow Powder, the Extreme Geyser Tube, etc. Or, with one of the many STEM science kits, you could choose themed experiment sets built around topics like bubbles, water, color mixing, physics, or any of the many other options. These kits were a fun fit for school-age kids in our 2022 testing; current age guidance varies by kit.

Because Steve Spangler’s lineup functions more like individual science kits than a traditional subscription, it fits this roundup as an activity-kit alternative rather than a monthly box.

In Kidz

In Kidz has won the 2020 National Parenting Product Award! And we understand why! These amazing subscription boxes will teach your kids about the world they live in. They have the mission to spread the idea that we are all more similar than we are different. In Kidz wants to empower children with cultural awareness and appreciation! Bring the world together and build a better future!

When we reviewed In Kidz in 2022, the brand offered culture-focused boxes including Día De Los Muertos, Italy, France, Jamaica, Australia, America: Black History and Guatemala. In 2026, the brand still lists country and culture kits, although availability varies and many current listings are sold out. These boxes stood out to us for combining hands-on activities with an introduction to other cultures. For more screen-free ideas, our holiday games and crafts for kids roundup offers another set of family activities.