The 'Builder Boards' from inventor Jack McGee are like Lincoln Logs for the backyard, and you can purchase them in fully and partially finished states from his website, or get the plans to make your own from his $13 how-to book (added to the sidebar Reading List). OR construct the vintage models straight from this 1953 Modern Mechanix article.
Don't miss Jack's other inventive DIY projects on his website, including a magnetic marble run, fun house mirror, and a busy box for special needs children.
There's a great old book from 1975 called Handcrafted Playgrounds: Designs You Can Build Yourself by M. Paul Friedberg. I bought a used copy on Amazon. It has fantastic step-by-step instructions. Classic!
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor made something like this for his children and they love, love, love it.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Thanks so much for this post... We have 6 children thus far (11, 8, 6, 3 and 1 yr old twins)... We have been trying to figure out for YEARS how we could make our children an outdoor version of 'lincoln logs or legos'... They try constantly to build with 1 x 1s or 4 x 4s plus other pieces of scrapbook from 'daddy's workshop'... We worry about it falling in on them and it just doesn't stay together... We have been searching for something that would be durable, flexible (multi designs) yet lightweight... I can't wait to make a set of these... The children are going to have a ball... Thank you again... We have truly enjoyed your blog... We are currently designing our own playground and looking for 'vintage' photos because we don't want another cookie cutter, factory made, primary colored, pre-packed, inferior material/parts, over priced junk from a box store play area in our yard...
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