Product Details
Share the Wonder! STEM through nature's patterns!
- A monthly kit of adventures exploring beautiful patterns of life, from the perspective of all STEM and STEAM subjects
- Our eco-games, code, origami and art simulate spirals, stripes, flocks and other patterns in biology, ecology, or behavior. See the patterns also in natural wonders, such as real pine cones, shells, minerals, leaves, all included in the boxes
- Each Beautiful Discovery box comes with art materials and drag-and-drop block code for modeling the included natural wonders, lessons for an adult, teen alone, or preteen with adult guidance. Ages 9 and up benefit most
- Each box bursts with a months+ worth of beautiful discoveries. Go deeper with 90+ videos on modeling nature's patterns for scientific or cinematic film, VR & predictive modeling, or other arts & sciences
- Like a forest walk or museum visit, Beautiful Discovery is accessible to all ages, yet endlessly stimulating the deeper one goes
Sneak Peek
Frozen Fractals: deCODING snow patterns
Explore fractal patterns of snowflakes, frost fern and crystals. Draw those patterns on a scratch board. Model them with simple drag and drop blocks. Make snowy frost fern salt crystals in minutes. Look deeply at nature's fractals. Examine the simple rules that give rise to frozen fractals and similar life patterns, like trees and ferns. See that pattern on the included snowflake obsidian. All needed materials included.
Order by August 31st to get this box!
Customer Questions (4)
Q: Is it possible to request specific boxes? Some of your boxes would be amazing for my daughter, and others she would be less interested in. I would love to not have to wait for certain boxes! Thx!Asked by Andrea P., November 2022
Thanks for the interest! If you could tell us some of the boxes that would be amazing for her, at least one or two, we could tell you if we have that in stock right now. You could post that here or send us a private message.
Q: Can you use it successfully with 2 children? Asked by Julie K., November 2022
Yes. Many of our customers have subscriptions for two children. About half of those order 1 subscription for two children. The other half order two separate subscriptions, one for each child (better for cases when children have trouble sharing). Some after school programs order 1 subscription for several children, for group sharing. One limitation is that some boxes have only one canvas, but all boxes have so many other projects.
Q: Do you ship to APO addresses? Asked by Kathleen M., October 2022
Yes. We've shipped several boxes to APO addresses. Glad to do it. Shipping to APO addresses is FREE, as is all US shipping.
Q: What age group Is best suited for this box?Asked by Von K., July 2019
To appeal to all ages, we carefully selected visually beautiful patterns
that have scientific, mathematical, and artistic significance. We include
games, models, art, and natural wonders that reflect those patterns and
make them tangible. While the boxes include easy access science-oriented
games, drag-and drop Scratch coding, stories and art activities for
preteens to enjoy, it also includes fascinating lessons for adults or
teens. Each box comes with a lesson for an adult or teen alone, or for a
preteen with adult guidance. So we believe two groups will benefit the
most: 1) preteens working with an enthusiastic adult, 2) teenage or adult
science geeks working alone. Thanks for your interest and your question!
Chris and Kathy
Reviews (16)
So disappointed
Oct 27, 2022
Verified Purchase
Jennifer D.
I did not know what I was getting when ordering this box. Did not realize there was a preview evidently. The hunter/predator box seems a bit outside of the the realm of other boxes displayed.
Ordered it as a bday gift for my 11 year old niece. It showed up no one could figure what the heck this box was. So disappointing :(
We will refund your order. So very sorry the grazers and hunters wasn't what your niece expected. Yes, there's a preview and, just to be sure, we will add more detail to the description of that particular box. Each month has a new topic, so we have boxes stocked on many other subjects and are emailing you privately to see if there's any specific one she would like (you can browse the "past boxes" section or the slideshow). Or let us know if there's anything else we can do.
Beautiful Discovery is FANTASTIC!
Apr 26, 2021
Verified Purchase
Kimberly L.
This is a FANTASTIC subscription box! We are homeschoolers and I have a tween who loves science, patterns, and nature and this box has the most wonderful combinations of all three! I was specifically looking for boxes for older kids, since many subscriptions are geared toward the younger elementary age group. Each box has *lots* of activities, experiments, and information - enough to spread out over the course of a month until the next box comes. I can't recommend Beautiful Discovery highly enough!
That is so gratifying to hear! This review perfectly captures what our box should do for kids. We will be quoting this to reach others. Great photos too. Thank you so much!
So cool!
Apr 24, 2021
Alice P.
I love the Beautiful Discovery boxes. My middle and high school children have loved exploring each box especially since they have been stuck at home. The hands-on objects are always the first things examined and then we all want to know what pattern or math concept we could possibly be learning about.
I have artistic girls who, while good at math, find their schools' curriculums rather boring and there never seems to be any "isn't this cool!" stuff. They also don't get to experience the beauty of math, literally and figuratively. These boxes help bring their awareness to the power and prevalence of math outside of skills needed to pass standardized testing.
As an elementary teacher, I have loved having ideas to use in my classroom to entice those who feel they aren't "good" at math find mathematical access, relevance, or just plain fun.
Thank you for perfectly themed and curated boxes!
Thanks! Your description of our box is beautifully written, better than our own description. We are thrilled your artistic girls are experiencing the beauty and power of math.
Good overall
Feb 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
Sharon K.
Items in the box are good, but there is too much reading involved.
Truly beautiful discoveries!
Sep 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
Cynthia G.
My kids and I love all of the boxes we have received! They really are beautiful discoveries! The packaging is enticing, the materials are beautiful, and the activities are all so unique. We are so glad we discovered this subscription, and we recommend it to everyone!
Thanks so much!
My favourite math+art subscription!
Aug 04, 2020
Verified Purchase
Sandra Z.
My favourite subscription! My only 4-star is due to shipping to Canada - I wish I could get it free, but it is completely understandable :) Luckily, I can ship to my sister in the US because as a math teacher and art lover, I find these boxes to be the perfect fit in showing the connections between the two areas. I searched (for weeks!) for something that would inspire my own lesson plans and this does exactly that. Thank you for the thought put into designing these activities. With all the research I do on my end to connect art to STEM fields, you have taught me even more! Thank you so much and please continue these - I look forward to many more boxes :)
Thank you! What you've done with the boxes is just what we hoped would happen. Yes, the art of math and math of art is what inspired us too. We did lower shipping to Canada as you suggested.
Fabulous for STEM-oriented older kids!
Jul 06, 2020
Verified Purchase
Nicole M.
This was a fabulous box for an older (I'd recommend 10+) STEM oriented child! My 11 year old son is very smart, loves Math, and has mild ASD (so in his case, patterns, codes, logic endlessly intrigues him). He had aged out of many of the other subscription crate options, and those that required complex fine motor/building skills (Tinker Crate, etc) were not his top strength. But the concepts here were new to him, and even enticed him to paint/draw/craft. This crate helped him decide STEAM (with the Art added) might be as great as STEM :) 5 stars!
This is very gratifying to hear! The benefits and experience you described for your son are exactly why we make these boxes!
Great for older kids too!
Dec 15, 2019
Verified Purchase
Sara M.
I love this product! So many different options, and different ways to explore it!
I tried it with my friends' two kids: A 14 year old who is super into science, but doesn't think of themselves as creative AND an 11 year old artists who "isn't that into science". They both loved it, AND they worked on it together, making up their own games with it! Total win! Strongly recommended.
Thank you! That is so great to hear.
Original Items You Can't Get Elsewhere!
Dec 29, 2019
Kelly T.
High quality products, all original items that you can't get anywhere else!
Thanks!
A Wonderful Birthday present!
Sep 11, 2019
Verified Purchase
Rhea B.
Dear Chris & Kathy,
I wanted to let you know how much my 10 yr. old granddaughter is enjoying her Discovery Box! It was a Birthday present. After looking through the contents, she immediately started to organize the items. She made folders & labeled them and put the pictures in; she labeled boxes for shells and other items and she also made a T-chart to record her observations. She is enjoying it immensely! She was so excited to learn that she will be receiving another "NEW" Beautiful Discovery box next month! Thank you both; you've done a wonderful job!
Photos from reviews of Beautiful Discovery Box…
Past boxes from Beautiful Discovery Box…
Secret Code of Flowers: Golden Ratio Spirals
Discover the golden ratio and spirals in nature, with drag and drop code, painting spirals, a real daisy, science booklet, origami, real pine cones, and mobile. Our materials, supplemented with movies and computer models, give you an intuitive feel for the golden angle, irrational numbers, and why the number of spirals in flowers and pine cones are Fibonacci numbers.
Patterns in Perspective: deCODING 3D
With 3D glasses, VR (virtual reality) glasses, and 3D modeling tools, you learn about perspective drawing, parallax and other 3D mechanisms. Comes with 3D slides, drawing exercises, code and bonus interactive 3D images online with your phone. You go beyond the three dimensions, adding three color dimensions, learning how computers generate shades of colors.
Simplicity of Symmetry: Polyhedra in Nature
Explore elegant symmetrical patterns constructed with simple rules. These include sparkly and crystal clear “Platonic solids" and logarithmic spirals. See these patterns in the enclosed real fluorite crystal and an ammonite fossil. Make these patterns with easy drag & drop code.
Grazers and Hunters: Art & Science of Predator-Prey Ecosystems
Look deeply at the beautiful patterns of elk and wolves, with art and science. Draw the fur patterns with pastels. Get a feel for the ecosystem with a dynamic game, where you try to gain the most elk and grass through strategic grazing and hunting. The beautiful cardboard game has a code version, which is a model of a predator-prey ecosystem. Start with easy drag and drop code, and move onto analysis.
deCODING Ecosystem Balancing and Tipping
Discover the beauty of ecosystems with art, models, and games. The game is a barely balanced ecosystem. Try to tip it in your favor. Comes with coding blocks, instructional movies, online computer models, real sand dollar, paper starfish mobile, colored pencils, art instruction for underwater scene.
deCODING nature's spots & stripes with art & science
With art and code, explore simple models generating diverse patterns on animal fur, feathers, and flocks. Learn techniques of painting and sketching with art projects celebrating the patterns. Includes models, real feather, transparent grid, paint, canvas, dye, dish and glue. Paint a closeup of a snowy owl, and use code to model of flock. For fun we model an owl flock from Harry Potter.
Heavenly Harmony: Pendulums and Music of the Spheres
Find out what orbits in our solar system have in common with music. This box includes harmonic motion pendulums, paint for a glow in the dark Mimas moon, a pendulum that glows its oscillations, code, pan pipes that illustrate mathematics of music. As in music, the solar system orbits show ratios of two to one, three to two and four to three.
DeCODING bubbles and bees
Discover why bees make hexagons. By making containers, explore why hexagons are the most efficient use of material. See soap bubbles form hexagons when packed. With a wax resist drawing of a honeycomb, celebrate the beautify of beehives and explore the hydrophobic nature of wax. Comes with wasp nest sample, and sheet of beeswax.
Parabolas and Paraboloids
The parabola is a pattern hidden throughout nature. Get an intuitive feel for this by making 3D models of parabolas and paraboloids using origami, stick frames, and cones, Also includes science booklet and drag and drop code.
Decoding Nature's Broken Symmetries
From flowers to crystals to atomic particles, nature abounds with broken symmetries. Play with floral shapes, making 3D models with broken symmetry, the Trillium flower, the hexagonal Mountain Laurel. Included is a rhombic dodecahedral garnet stone, a pyritohedral piece of iron pyrite, and large models of each (both dodecahedra with some symmetry broken). See how reducing symmetry opens up new practical possibilities and new beauty!
deCODING Food Ecosystems
When a Vervet monkey sees several others eating a blue berry, he tends to eat blue berries. If the monkey moves to a new group where they eat pink berries, the Vervets will eat pink berries. We use simple Scratch code to model this "monkey see monkey do" behavior. We also explore the beauty of the Vervets and their berries with a drawing projects. We'll also paint a blueberry using blueberry pastes prepared as acid and base mixtures.
Decoding Clustering in Shells & Crabs
Birds of a feather flocking together, a kind of segregation, generates patterns of spots and patches. Fiddler crabs flock in this way, for example. More complex patterns of spots and stripes occur on the surface of shells. This box explores these patterns with crabs, shells, and a game model of segregation. Includes an easy model of segregation and a board game model of crab shell patterns. The drag & drop code matches the board game and shell drawing exercise!
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