About Little Passports
Little Passports is an educational subscription service for children. The activity sets include tasks focused on culture, geography and STEM learning, taught through a variety of crafts, stories, interactive experiments and more.
The brand has been featured in numerous publications including WSJ, RealSimple, People, Wired, Parents and Family Fun and has also been mentioned in The View. They have an impressive following of 731,000 followers on Facebook and 41,000 on Instagram.
My review of Little Passports will take a close look at the brand and their subscription packages, provide examples of customer reviews, information on promotions and much more to help you decide if their award-winning courses are the right choice for your child.
Overview of Little Passports
Mothers and best friends Amy Norman and Stella Ma founded Little Passports in 2009 with the aim of “inspiring children to learn about the world”. Both founders grew up with different cultures and learned the importance of learning about geography at a young age.
Little Passports has evolved over the years and now offers 5 different courses that are shipped to countries around the globe. In 2016, the brand reached its goal of shipping 2 million boxes.
Based in San Francisco, California, the company continues to develop ways to inspire your children to get creative and expand their horizons.
Highlights
- STEM, culture and geography subscriptions available
- Offers a mix of hands-on experiments and activities with additional e-based learning and games
- 5 different course options
- Options for 1, 6 or 12 month subscriptions, with greater savings the longer you subscribe. Subscriptions can be canceled at any time
- Customers say the kits are good quality and fun to use
- Refer a friend and get $25 off your next kit, and save 20% off the entire site when you use the promo code: “BIRTHDAY”
- Get free DIY activities and discounts when you sign up for the newsletter
- Free US shipping
The brand helps children learn more about the world around them. In this Little Passports review, I’ll go over how the subscription service works and what you can expect in each subscription plan.
How Does Little Passports Work?
Little Passports is an educational subscription for children. You have 5 different boxes to choose from, each suitable for a specific age group.
The boxes are sent out each month and contain a selection of activities on a specific theme, subject or location. All you have to do is select the subscription your child would like and you will receive your box each month.
Subscriptions are available on a monthly basis or for 6 or 12 months. Regardless of the length of the subscription, the full cost of the boxes must be paid at the time of purchase.
Those who do not want a long subscription can choose the monthly option and cancel the subscription before the next billing date. The company also sells its boxes individually.
Little Passports works with parents and educators to put together boxes that will excite and engage your child. They want your child to learn, and the best way to do that is with interesting and varied educational materials.
The brand’s boxes contain a mix of hands-on and pen-to-paper activities, as well as fun extras such as stickers, picture books, comics and other age-specific items. Plus, each box has been tested by children to make sure it’s fun and engaging.
Little Passports’ subscription plans are tailored to culture and geography as well as STEM learning. The 5 subscription plans offered by the brand are,
- Early Explorers (3-5 years)
- World Edition (6-10 years)
- USA Edition (7-12 years)
- Science Junior (5-8 years)
- Science Expeditions (7-12 years)
You can cancel your subscription at any time, but if you sign up for a 6- or 12-month subscription and want to cancel during the term, you won’t be able to get a refund for the boxes you no longer want to receive.
In the next section of this Little Passports review, I’ll break down exactly what you’ll find in each subscription.
Little Passports Culture & Geography Review
With the Little Passports culture and geography sets, your children will learn about different cultures and parts of the world. They can explore the planet through fun activities related to science and geography.
Let’s take a look at what’s included in the Early Explorers, World Edition and USA Edition kits.
Little Passports Early Explorers Ages 3-5 Review
Awaken your child’s curiosity about the world around them. Designed for the early learning stages, Early Explorers offers adventures to different places around the world, including natural wonders, landmarks and oceans.
With this set, your child will learn about the culture of different countries and learn about traditional foods, art and music. Early Explorers also teaches about animals, insects and habitats found around the world, showing just how diverse and special the Earth really is.
With the first package, your child will receive an orange suitcase filled to the brim with activities, stickers, trading cards, maps and letters. In the following months, the Early Explorers kits will have a new theme to help your child delve deeper into other cultures and environments.
Little Passports World Edition Ages 6-10 Review
The World Edition offers children a broader view of the world. They can take a closer look at other countries and learn specific details about their culture and history. These kits help your child explore the world, one country at a time.
The adventure begins in Brazil, where your child will receive their own passport to enter the country. The passport is a nice addition that makes the experience even more personal and stimulates the imagination.
The first World Edition kit also includes a wall-sized map of the country, a chapter book, stickers, photos, activity books and souvenirs. Your child will also have access to more information about the country online if they want to find out even more.
In the coming months, they will receive “trips” to other countries via Little Passports: Egypt, Australia, China, England, France, Iceland, India, Japan and others.
Each pack includes a themed storybook, activity booklets, stickers, letters, collectible coins, hands-on activities and online extras with the Little Passports Boarding Zone.
Little Passports STEM Review
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, and in Little Passports STEM subscriptions, your child will solve real-life science puzzles and complete hands-on Little Passports projects tailored to a specific theme.
In the next part of this Little Passports review, I’ll explain what to expect with the Science Junior and Science Expedition kits.
Little Passports Science Junior Ages 5-8 Review
Science Junior introduces your child to fun, exciting science experiments and teaches them how things work. This pack covers topics such as volcanoes, chimpanzees, optical illusions, deep sea exploration and much more.
The first month begins with the Science Junior introductory kit, which focuses on Weddell seals.
With the introductory kit, children learn how to make their own Weddell seal walker, a toy with a mechanism that makes it move. The kit also includes a full-color magazine and an adventure comic book with activities to complete with pen and paper.
Children will also receive an Antarctica board game and trading cards containing fun science facts about the continent.
In subsequent months, the kits will focus on a specific theme and include hands-on science experiments, comics, games, activities, trading cards and science stickers.
How Much is Little Passports?
Little Passports offers 5 different subscriptions at different prices. The following prices are per month and range across 1, 6 and 12 month subscriptions:
- Early Explorers: $21-$25
- World Edition: $24-$28
- USA Edition: $17-$21
- Science Junior: $24-28
- Science Expeditions: $24-28
- Little Passports Premium for an additional $10
Little Passports Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
To give you a better understanding of the brand in this Little Passports review, I scoured the internet to find out what customers are saying about the company.
Below you’ll find customer reviews from untoldmorsels, thedeliberatemom and Amazon, all of which address the pros and cons of the company.
In a Little Passports review by Katy Clarke for the Early Explorers package on Untold Morsels, readers learned what she thought worked and didn’t work about this subscription. Clarke loved that the package provided hours of quality entertainment.
She said the kits contained “educational and high-quality materials” and overall, “this is a well-designed, messy program that you can use for several hours.”
In terms of what didn’t work, Clarke said she wished she could choose the topic her child receives, as some topics didn’t interest her child at all. She also pointed out that you can’t just give these kits to your children, you have to supervise them and help them with some of the activities.
Jennifer from The Deliberate Mom tested the World Edition Kit after her daughter received the first Discovery Box. She noted that the box was definitely tested for children and contained good quality materials and souvenirs.
The reviewer wrote that “the characters (Sam & Sofia) are very likeable,” a definite plus since the entire program follows the two around the world.
She also pointed out that this subscription can also be used by siblings. There is no need to buy two separate subscriptions as the materials are personalized: The packages can be addressed to all the children in your household.
The only negative Jennifer found is the price. The subscription can get expensive if you have to pay for international shipping every month.
The Little Passports World Edition is rated 4.2/5 stars by almost 600 Amazon customers. The positive reviews say that children love the figurines, coins and other memorabilia included in the box.
One customer wrote: “The box is sturdy and the materials included are of high quality. We immediately hung up the world map and can’t wait for the next delivery to arrive. He literally asks for it once a day. I was impressed with the samples that were in the first box and the surprise of which country you get next is so exciting.”
Other subscription boxes have also received positive reviews on Amazon:
- Early Explorers: 4.2/5 stars from nearly 400 reviews
- Science Expeditions: 4.2/5 stars from over 150 reviews
- Science Jr. Premium: 4.2/5 stars from over 150 reviews
Little Passports is a wonderful idea that has inspired children all over the world to learn with their kits. I admit that there are a minority of negative reviews, but many parents and children eagerly await a new box each month.
Is Little Passports Worth It?
As with everything in life, preferences vary. There are certainly kids who don’t appreciate the brand’s subscription boxes, and that’s perfectly fine, it just means they’re interested in other things.
Are Little Passports worth it? For those interested in culture, travel and science, I think the company’s kits are worth a look. The brand also offers promotions and free shipping for US customers.
Little Passports’ price per box is about $23/month and is a good starting point to continue learning at home.
I must note in this Little Passports review that these kits do require adult assistance, at least the kits for younger children. I think this is a great thing and gives you a fun activity to do with your child while you watch them learn. You might even learn a thing or two yourself.
Little Passports Promotions & Discounts
At the time of this Little Passports review, I discovered the following promotions and discounts available on littlepassports.com:
- Save 20% when you use Little Passports coupon code: “BIRTHDAY”
- Refer a friend and get $25 off your next kit
- Get free DIY activities and discounts when you sign up for the newsletter
- Free shipping to the U.S.
Sign up for Little Passports
To sign up for Little Passports, you must first go to the official website and follow the steps below:
- Click on “Subscription boxes” in the top menu bar
- Select which subscription your child would like
- Choose whether you would like a monthly, 6-month or 12-month subscription
- Add your child’s name and birthday
- Click on “Add to cart”
- Enter the payment and billing details
FAQ
Who founded Little Passports?
Friends and mothers Amy Norman and Stella Ma founded Little Passports. They were both lucky enough to experience different cultures during their childhood and wanted all children to have the same experiences.
What age group is Little Passports aimed at?
Little Passports offers 5 different packages tailored to different age groups. The packages start from ages 3 to 5 and go up to 8+.
How much does Little Passports cost per month?
That depends on which package you choose. Packages start at $16/month and go up to $28/month.
How can I cancel my Little Passports subscription?
You can cancel your Go Little Passports subscription at any time. To do so, go to your Little Passports account on the website or send an email to support@littlepassports.com.
