Saturday, December 20, 2014

A Constructive Christmas Gift Suggestion


Here's a really great Christmas gift idea for that up-and-building dry stone waller in your family. I got this set for my birthday. The box contains a thousand pieces.

Talk about thinking with your hands ! 

These blocks are a terrific resource to experiment with, creatively using the same simple principles of physics we wallers use everyday. Like dry stone walling, these Kapla blocks are intended to be stacked and remain in place only using gravity. They do not have snaps or interlocking parts and are not meant to be used with glue.

The blocks are precision cut to a single size and shape, which assists in the stability of larger constructions. Each block is a cuboid in the ratio 1:3:15. The length of the longest side is 12 centimeters (4¾ inches). The blocks are certified green from renewable forests of Marine pine near the Bordeaux region of France. The blocks are not varnished or treated. Colored blocks are stained with non-toxic water based paints of six different hues.

Here's a simplified lookout tower idea I'm experimenting with that I'm hoping to build out of stone next year.
In French schools and kindergartens the blocks are used as educational toys. There are many videos on the Internet of large and tall Kapla constructions built by adults. Here's one of them.