HEREABOUTS pamela dillon
If you build it, they will come.
That’s what Steven and David Morales were hoping when they sent out invitations to their friends to a K’NEXity Open House in late September. What is a K’NEXity? Well, it is comprised of more than 45 building projects that the brothers put together over two months this past summer.
Downstairs in their Springboro home, the K’NEX projects cover several tables in two rooms. The colorful motorized machines look like a mini Kings Island. There are four roller coasters, and four ball machines including the Launchin’ Lizard and the Big Ball Factory. There also are two Ferris Wheels and several other amusement park rides.
The boys are homeschooled by their mother, Emily Morales. She introduced K’NEX one day a week on Thursdays as part of their coursework for pre-engineering studies. David is 8 and a third-grader. Steven, 9, is a fourth-grader.
“My favorite is the Rippin’ Rocket Roller Coaster,” said Steven. “It was challenging, and fun to watch when it was done.”
Some of the motorized coasters even feature a scream soundtrack when the little plastic people go down the hills. In addition to the amusement park rides, they built 12 simple machines, two bridges, and 10 green projects that are powered by solar panels. It took time and dedication to build all these projects.
“They’d get real whiny sometimes when it was a beautiful day and I would tell them to go outside,” said Emily Morales. “They would both say, ‘But I’ve got to build something.’ ”
The young boys have tackled projects that are too intimidating for many children to learn.
“Many of the models are no longer available, so you have to buy them on eBay. Some of the packages hadn’t even been opened,” said Emily Morales. “They got quite a bit of help on some of the projects, but once they learned the formula, they really went to town and built the rest themselves.”
Morales said college engineering students use some of the lines to create intricate ball machines in their dorm rooms.
“They have learned more about gears, and it really teaches a lot about spacial relationships,” said Emily Morales. “If a kid wants to be an engineer or even a dentist, he’s going to have to see the world in 3D.”
Steven and David were evaluated during the summer, and the teacher indicated that at their current study pace, they would be ready for college at the age of 14. David also had another K’NEX project in his bedroom – a sewing machine.
“You can build everything with K’NEX. It’s so unlimited,” said David Morales. “You can build more than one at the same time. I just love to build things.”
For more information about K’NEX visit www.knex.com.
Contact this columnist at (937) 748-3487 or PamDillon@woh.rr.com.