DISCLAIMER:  I am an Amazon Associate.  As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases made using the links in this post at no additional cost to you. Osmo gifted the creative starter kit to my family to share my honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

I was recently gifted the Osmo Creative Starter Kit and I wanted to share our experience!

What is Osmo?

If you aren’t familiar with Osmo, it is a hands on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) based software program for kids ages 5 – 12. Osmo teaches STEAM skills in an interactive, educational and fun way! It emphasizes learning through play and the system grows with your child in complexity as they grow! While we try to limit screen time for our children, Osmo has truly been an instrument that we do not feel guilty about letting them enjoy on a regular basis.

How does Osmo work?

All you need is a compatible iPad or Fire tablet, an internet connection to download the software, and then purchase a starter kit which includes the Osmo base for your iPad or tablet and the pieces that come with each Osmo Kit. The base includes a mirror specifically designed to attach to the camera on the iPad or tablet and also the base to allow your iPad or tablet to sit upright. These pieces allow for all kinds of fun interactive play and only need to be purchased once!

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The Creative Starter kit includes 4 dry erase markers, a marker storage bag that also acts as a wipe, a non-slip & easy to wipe creative board as well as the other items mentioned above.

Each Osmo game provides animated screens with detailed (but not lengthy), visual instructions for set up. Kids need very minimal assistance. My kids are able to do the set up all by themselves!

What games are included in the Creative Starter Kit?

There are three fun, creative, educational and interactive games included in this starter kit: 1) Monster, 2) Newton & 3) Masterpiece. Each game is interactive and brings artwork to life in a creative way!

What is the Osmo Monster Game?

For both of my children (ages 3 & 5), the highlight of the creative starter kit was the Monster game where their artwork comes to life on the screen!

In the Monster game, your little artist interacts with a cute, charismatic and funny Monster named ‘Mo’. Mo leads them along a magical journey full of opportunities for their own artwork to come to life on the screen! The iPad (or Tablet) physically sees what your little artist has drawn on the provided creative board and then translates it into the scene on the display. For example, if Mo asks them to draw a bath tub, he will use whatever bath tub your children create for his bath.

As a parent, I loved this game because it is incredibly interactive and creative, it provides children with opportunities to practice fine motor skills, develop language skills, and develop cognitive skills independently. Children also use their imagination to create Mo’s journey.

What is the Newton Game?

Newton is a fun, interactive problem solving game where children must guide balls across a playing field. Children can draw the lines with the provided markers and creative board or use real life objects! Each level becomes more and more challenging. My little engineer loved this game!

I loved it because it encourages reasoning skills and confidence in reasoning abilities – especially when she began using household objects on the playing field, like a banana and a barbie!

Engineers are imaginative and creative problem solvers! They experiment through trial and error and this game provides a fun and interactive way for children to do just that!

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Tip: Be sure to turn the screen brightness all the way up on this game for a crisp, clear screen image.

What is the Masterpiece Game?

The Masterpiece game is another application for your little artist to practice drawing! Children can take a photo of their favorite object and the iPad transposes it as a drawing on the iPad screen. Then children can then draw the objects! There are also templates available of various objects that children can select, like letters, cursive and numbers. Once the drawing is complete, they are saved into an ‘art gallery’.

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This application was a bit more challenging than the other two because my children are at the bottom end of the age range. While my children didn’t spend as much time playing this one, it was still fun for them.

I liked it because children practice fine motor skills and handwriting skills!

Do you recommend the Creative Starter kit?

Osmo is TOTALLY WORTH every penny of investment! If you have a little artist in your family, this Creative Starter kit is an excellent choice!

As for my kids thoughts:

“Mo is goofy when he slips out of the bath tub! And I loved when he disappeared with the wand! He is so fun!” (5 year old)

“Mo is a crazy, funny monster! I loved his wild ride on the broom and when he burped after eating the watermelon I drew!” (3 year old)

As you can see, they highly recommend it too!

You can find the Creative Starter Kit bundle for iPad here! There are also other starter kits available!

If you already own the Osmo base and just wish to purchase the additional accessories included in the set we received, you can find them here!

-Kristen