The epic building toy company K’nex has travelled to Toy Street, and we’re very excited to tell you all about it!

K’nex has been around for years, and nowadays is a staple in any child’s toy box! Their innovative building rods are fun and educational, and can be used at home or even at school! K’nex didn’t start out thinking they were going to become an educational toy, but in the 25 years they’ve been running they have developed a huge range of products to not only thrill people, but to help them learn!

K’nex History

K’nex was originally founded in 1992 by brothers Joel and Bob Glickman, Joel was at a wedding fiddling with his straw and started thinking about how he could connect it to other straws and so the idea started blooming. The first building system was very simple, it stuck to rods and connectors which could be easily attached together to make a range of constructions.

Joel and Bob slowly started introducing wheels, pulleys and moving parts into their collection but were initially turned down by some of the biggest toy companies around (Hasbro, Mattel and Lego). This led to the Glickman brothers approaching retail giant Toys R Us directly, and the first shipment was sent to Toys R Us shops in October 1992.

K’nex wanted to show children that “the limit to building was the size of their imagination!” and although their original plan wasn’t to make educational toys, they now pride themselves on connecting science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics with imagination. They have won over 430 awards for their products and today regularly partners with popular brands such as Mario Kart and Plants vs Zombies.

Collections

K’nex has over 10 unique collections from their classic Imagine range to their Kid K’nex – perfect for toddlers and younger children.

Imagine

This collection is all about fun and is only limited by your imagination! It focuses on letting children play and create whatever they want, no matter how big or small! It features K’nex sets which can make an incredible a 6ft ferris wheel to classic construction sets which can be used to build absolutely anything!

K-force

K-force is all about dart blasters which can be built and customised. The blasters can be made to different sizes and be single or multi-shot, it’s up to you! Which one will you take into battle?

STEM

This range is all about education and learning! STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – which are subjects the toys can be used in. The toys are aimed to be used in and out of school and promote engagement within the classroom. The sets are hands-on and include lesson plans to help teach STEM topics.

Kid

K’nex is aimed at children of all ages, which is why they launched the Kid K’nex range. The sets are colourful, flexible and specially designed for little hands. The parts are softer and chunkier than standard K’nex parts to help ease toddlers and younger children into building!

Since it’s conception in 1992, over 42 billion parts have been made in the US to go into K’nex sets. The company and products continues to thrive and encourage children to not only have fun, but learn and develop important skills along the way. We’re proud to sell K’nex at Toy Street!

Shop the full collection now!