I don’t know about you, but a key part of my childhood involved taking apart things and attempting to build or re-build them. Success didn’t matter (Sorry mom, the vacuum wasn’t reassembled to working specs), rather the experience of learning and interacting with the various pieces and parts is what meant more. Of course we still have Legos, Lincoln Logs, Erector sets, and other smaller-scale toys that offer this sort of opportunity, but this building kit from Rigamajig has taken that concept one step further, offering kids a hands on building experience using life-sized materials.
Designed by Cas Holman, who went to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) came up with the idea after she was invited to design “play opportunities” for Manhattan’s High Line park in 2011. Her “popup playground” served as the inspiration for the kit.
“Rigamajig is not about a finished product. It’s the playful process. The collaborating. The tinkering. The soft and hard skills that are learned while kids are engaged in play. This is what learning can look like!”
– Cas Holman
Rather than providing an instruction booklet, the kit comes with “play prompts” which encourage kids to think about the building possibilities, for example how might they use the pulley to lift something or how they could build the tallest possible structure using just 15 pieces. This sort of creative prodding moves kids away from following a rote set of instructions toward more creative solutions and experimenting.
This is just the kind of product we like to see, something that literally brings out the child in, well a child. Rather than liberating random pieces of plywood and splintered scraps from the local construction site, kids have a tool that delivers structure and possibility in a way that fuels their creative minds. With a little luck, Rigamajig will bring out the architect in some of those kids, maybe even inspiring them to build the next great pre-fab dwelling.
Learn more about Rigamajig at their website, or purchase your own kit at Kaboom.