K'NEX

Rods, connectors, wheels, and moving parts. K'NEX let you build everything from cars to working amusement park rides.

The idea for K'NEX started with a fairly ordinary distraction: playing with drinking straws at a wedding reception. Joel Glickman realized that adding connectors could turn those lengths into a building system. He developed the idea and launched K'NEX with his brother Bob in 1992.

Think of K'NEX as an updated version of the old Tinker Toys. The finished toy used rods that snapped into connectors to make open frameworks. You could follow the instructions to build a specific design, modify it, or build your own structure with moving parts. Unlike a solid wall of LEGO bricks, you could see through a K'NEX model, including the connection you'd forgotten to make.

Cars, structures, and moving models gave you plenty of designs to try out. Following the instructions helped you learn how the parts worked together, but then you could just take the model apart and use the pieces for your own idea. Getting multiple pieces and linkages to work together usually took some adjustments, but ultimately you could build fairly complicated designs.

Basic Fun continues to offer K'NEX, including the Power and Play Motorized Building Set, with 529 pieces, a motor, and instructions for 50 models you can build one at a time. There is also an Amusement Park set with an electric motor that lets you build a working Ferris wheel.