Build your own museum of space treasures

Photo: Averie Woodard/Unsplash

You will most likely never find a piece of a meteorite, but you can still get one, along with other »discoveries« from space and the Earth, in a surprise science box from Matter.

»Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.« This witticism by Albert Einstein entertains people to this day, while also presenting a serious challenge, not only to physicists, but to anyone who cares to give it some thought. Is the universe truly endless? And if it has an end, what is it like?

An individual Matter box can be yours for 50 dollars, or even less if you choose to subscribe. Delivery to Slovenia costs extra.

If Einstein had access to the  Matter subscription box, he might have learnt that another thing can be infinite, in addition to stupidity and the universe: joy. Like the joy of holding a piece of meteorite or a 66-million-year-old tooth fossil, or the excitement of opening a vial of aerogel, the lightest solid known to mankind.

The young, the old, and the older still, can explore the extraordinary, not yet fully deciphered puzzles from the outer space and our home world. Each month, the American company, The STEMcell, puts together a science box full of surprises, including several unusual items you’d have a hard time finding just anywhere. The boxes also include an information card with a short description of each item.

Photo: Rafael Zamora/Unsplash

Science is a tool allowing mankind to progress, but it’s not always the easiest way, as often it deals with hard mental nuts to crack. That is why the company’s selection always strives to spark curiosity in their subscribers, as well as desire for further research, either on the infinite expanse of the internet, or by starting serious field explorations.

The box of Matter connects history and science with aesthetics. Subscribers can use it to build their private museum collection at home, from month to month. Each box contains four to six items, some prehistoric, some modern, some man-made, some of natural origin.

By subscribing to Matter’s surprise box, you will receive a bundle of scientific rarities each month, aimed to inspire you to further exploration.

On the fourth of each month, the boxes are sent anywhere in the world, including Slovenia, with an extra shipping fee. An individual box is 50 dollars, but if you subscribe to receive one each month over an extended period, the price decreases. For example, a yearly subscription is 300 dollars, which means only 25 dollars a month. 

But if you wait until the very end of the month to subscribe, you might find that all the available spots on the recipient list have already been filled, and that you will have to wait another month for your box. Even in that case, not all is lost. You can still purchase one of the past boxes left over in stock from previous months.

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Users on online forums usually report that they prefer the subscription option to one-off purchases. Many admit that they did not expect much from the box, but that their doubts quickly dissipated with each received surprise. 

The youngest customers can of course often be much more difficult to win over than older ones. A rock is not the most attractive of toys. However parents that subscribe, claim that their children treasure each and every item, no matter how small.