K'Nex Roller Coaster

I grew up as a Lego kid --- everything from plain old blocks to Technics and Mindstorms. But I have to say that K'Nex really gives Lego a run for their money.

K'Nex are made up of rods and connectors that can go together in a bunch of different, three dimensional ways. They're easy for really young kids to create with, and as you grow they're very well suited to building moving models.

My son got the roller coaster kit for his birthday; we're still working on it together. Definitely get a "general purpose" set as well, though --- can't ever have enough parts for your own models.

The only problem with K'Nex is that they can be tough on small fingers. Snapping the rods into the connectors takes a bit of force. So help out the little ones --- bet you'll get sucked into building yourself!