Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Groovy Lab in a Box Review + Giveaway (#STEMists)

 


About the product
-Science learning made fun!
-Groovy Lab in a Box: Inspiring the next generation of STEMists….
-For ages 8+

STEM•ist /stĕmʹĭst/ n. Expert in applying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Explorer, creator, inventor…STEMist! #STEM

As science educators who have both worked in private industry, we wanted to create something that inspired critical thinking and a genuine love of learning. We believed more “doing” and “experiencing” of actual science practices is essential to science education. Groovy Lab in a Box has many facets to its design and can be utilized by schools, after school programs, homeschoolers, and parents of natural born STEMists. One of our core beliefs is that we want to bring this generation back to the NASA Apollo era when children wanted to be scientists and engineers and science was at the forefront of the media. Hence our "retro, 50’s" brand and logo design. We believe science should be more “Pop-Culture” in our society. When one understands science, one has a greater appreciation and understanding of the beauty, poetry, and wonder of
the universe around them. We believe a strong STEM education is the future for our children to be competitive in the 21st century. Science and art go hand in hand and children are encouraged to draw, journal, and "think" about their engineering design challenges. “Science and Art were never meant to be separated, they must intermingle.” - Elaine (Co-Founder)

Our product is unlike anything else on the market and was developed by a team of educators and scientists. It is not a kit but instead a truly custom STEM experience which incorporates the Engineering Design Process and Next Generation Science Standards. Being well versed with the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and practices, we felt that STEM and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) http://www.nextgenscience.org/ to be the most progressive platform to guide our design of Groovy Lab in a Box.

We created this product with the idea that each month a child can focus his or her imagination, determination, and innately inquisitive natures to complete NGSS based STEM projects using the Engineering Design Process. In addition, we want to use our product as a platform to further educate the public about STEM education via partnerships and collaborations such as NASA, Destination Imagination, and Edutopia.

We were recently awarded the "Parents' Choice Award" for our "Lunar Launch" box:
http://www.parentschoice.org/product.cfm?product_id=32520&StepNum=1&award=aw

Product Pricing
Subscription Based:
$26.95 / Month - Billed monthly
$25.95 / Month - Billed every 3 months
$24.95 / Month - Billed every 6 months
$23.95 / Month - Billed every 12 months

Non-recurring packages and Single Boxes are also available for purchase.

What's in the box?

Each month through our Groovy Lab in a Box subscription service, young STEMists will receive materials for fun, hands-on projects and an engineering design challenge – all focused on that month’s STEM topic. All STEMists will receive a Lab Notebook, where they can read about that month’s topic, perform investigation activities and document their findings. They will investigate, brainstorm, plan, build, test and redesign their own creations. The Engineering Design Challenge is the culmination of your STEMist’s learning experience – the ultimate project where he/she must apply the knowledge gained from that month’s activities.

STEMists also receive access to our special “Beyond…in a Box” online learning portal. This is a unique feature of Groovy Lab in a Box because it gives STEMists a deeper understanding of that month’s topic. “Beyond…in a Box” has videos and more interactive activities to supplement what they are learning from the box projects, which also helps the STEMist even more when completing the design challenge. Additionally, the monthly box contains bonus supplies exclusively for the activities available through “Beyond…in a Box.”

The "Beyond...In A Box" section also outlines ideas to do the box activities as a group. The PW for this section will be located in the lab notebook in your box.

Pride in Our Box

"Groovy Lab in a Box is proud to partner with Eggleston to ensure our subscribers receive their completed box delivered right to their STEMists’ door," - Elaine (Co-Founder)

Since 1955, Eggleston has been helping individuals with disabilities gain independence through work and living experience to help them lead fuller, richer lives. Eggleston creates opportunities for individuals to make the most of their abilities, contribute to society, and enjoy the satisfaction of working and earning their own living. Learn more about the amazing individuals who assemble all our boxes:

http://groovylabinabox.tumblr.com/post/89364350360/pride-in-our-box-every-monthsubscribing-stemists

For more information
• Website Press Page: http://www.groovylabinabox.com/press/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GroovyLabinABox
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GroovyLabinABox
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Einsteininabox/posts
• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/GroovyLabinabox/
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/GroovyLabinabox
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChkqSdr58yzyzJGANBEloIw
• Tumblr: http://groovylabinabox.tumblr.com

My thoughts

I absolutely love science and teaching science. It is one of the reasons why I majored in chemistry and got a masters in secondary education with an emphasis in science. Science is just so fun. I love being able to figure out things and helping kids learn how to make observations and draw conclusions from collected data. I'm all about inquiry learning!

Anyways, this Groovy Lab in a Box focused on the sun. Perfect box theme since it is really sunny and hot where I am living. I couldn't wait to get the box. And, I wasn't disappointed! Each box comes with all the supplies you need and a lab notebook.  I love the fact that they include glue, scissors, etc so I don't have to waste time making sure I have the supplies at home.

The lab notebook contains extra information about the subject you are studying, directions for the experiment you are doing, places to write down observations and data, and a brainstorming section so kids can create their own experiment. Let's just say that I love how well organized the lab notebook is and I am really big into organization.

I know Monkey is not 8 years old, but I couldn't resist teaching him about some science. Plus, I wanted to share with my readers about this way cool company. My boy really loved the Here Comes The Sun box and loved doing the experiments. I had to do more of the guiding since he isn't 8 years old, but he sure had fun!



I love the concept and they executed it really well. I totally recommend you trying them out. And Groovy in a Box has offered a coupon code for all the readers and a giveaway! I'm doing my happy dance right now.


Coupon Code
Groovy Lab in a Box has been very generous and is offering the readers of Howling Horn to use the code GROOVYNOW20 for a 20% Discount off the first month of our Monthly Subscriptions! How exciting!!


Giveaway
 *open to anyone 18+ who lives in the USA


***giveaway will start soon....might be a flash giveaway***


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

1 comment:

  1. I would love to win this. I love science. I used to teach it after all. Can't wait for when my kid is old enough to start doing science things. I would use this with my niece and nephews.

    ReplyDelete