Putt-Putt Windmill by Gabriel, 6
K’NEX fans consistently surpass our expectations with their creativity and innovation, building elaborate works of art that wow even our toy designers.
(PRWEB) November 18, 2013
K’NEX Brands, the only U.S. construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love®, has chosen the winners of its 2013 Annual K’NEXpert Search. The K’NEXpert Search is an annual, nationwide building contest that asks kids ages 5-14 to design an ultra-creative, original model made entirely out of K’NEX pieces.
Eight Grand Prize winners and twelve finalists were chosen from four age categories. As Grand Prize Winners, Rachel from Texas and Gabriel from New York (5-6 year-old age group); Kimber from Texas and Tobias from New York (7-8 year-old age group); Rachel from Texas and Graham from Washington (9-11 year-old age group); and Nicholas from Texas and Jordan from Pennsylvania (12-14 year-old age group), will each be awarded $2,500, a $500 knex.com shopping spree, one 16 GB iPad Mini™, a $250 Toys “R” Us® giftcard, and other great prizes. The twelve finalists, who will each be awarded a $250 knex.com shopping spree, a $100 Toys “R” Us® giftcard, along with other prizes, are: James from Texas, Sage from Washington, and Roman from California (5-6 year-old age group); Jackson from Kansas, Sarah from Texas, and Dylan from Minnesota (7-8 year-old age group); Aiden from Colorado; William from Texas, and Yuval from Arizona (9-11 year-old age group); and Patrick from California, Melissa from Texas, and Joseph from Massachusetts (12-14 year-old age group).
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“The K’NEXpert contest is the highlight of our year,” said K’NEX President Michael Araten. “K’NEX fans consistently surpass our expectations with their creativity and innovation, building elaborate works of art that wow even our toy designers. We’re proud to have the current winners represent K’NEX in 2014,” said Araten.
The Grand Prize-winning builds are truly impressive.
Six-year-old Gabriel, built “Putt-Putt Windmill,” which included a golf club and ball which could be hit through a rotating windmill obstacle!
Rachel, age 5, created “My K’NEX House,” which included doors, a table, flower vase with K’NEX flowers, and a countertop area.
Kimber, age 7, built this model, “Frog on Lilly Pads in Pond.” Kimber’s model is complete with a frog, and lily pads with flowers, all sitting on water made of K’NEX pieces.
Eight-year-old, Tobias, created this “Gantry Crane” out of K’NEX parts and pieces. It has a motor in the inner trolley and in the hook, which can pick up other K’NEX builds.
Ten-year-old Rachel’s creation, “Downtown Skyline and Bridge,” is complete with rotating restaurant, hotel, bank, apartment building and a bridge.
Graham, age 11, created this roller coaster, “Double Tap.” Using two different K’NEX motors, the coaster car rockets and soars around the build.
Fourteen-year-old Nicholas, built this model, “David and Goliath Coaster.” This continuous coaster uses over 7,000 pieces. Nicholas used concepts about physics to complete his structure.
Jordan, age 13, used around 4,000 K’NEX pieces to make his creation, the “K’NEX Prize Grabbing Claw Machine.” Four tethered motors were used to help pick up one of 10 prizes he also made from K’NEX.
A panel of judges comprised of K’NEX employees selected the semi-finalists followed by a public, online vote to determine the 20 winners. Ultimately, Joseph Smith, Senior Vice President of Development at K’NEX, chose the eight Grand Prize winners. Mr. Smith started as a “toy tester” for a major toy company at age 6, and has been designing toys and other things ever since. With 38 years involvement in the toy business, and a degree in industrial design, Mr. Smith has unique qualifications for understanding what makes a great model, and the effort and care our contestants have used to come up with something neat!
The Annual K’NEXpert Search is open to U.S. residents, and no purchase is necessary. For more information on K’NEX, the contest or its winners log on to [http://www.knex.com/club/knexperts-2014.php.
About K’NEX Brands
Founded in 1992, K’NEX Brands, the world’s most innovative construction toy company, was established to make and sell what has become one of the world’s leading integrated construction systems for children and is America’s STEM building solution. Winner of over 250 international awards and recognitions, K’NEX, America’s building toy company, is focused on Building Worlds Kids Love and encourages youngsters to “imagine, build and play.” From the living room to the classroom, K’NEX has building toys specially designed for every age group and skill level. The K’NEX family of brands includes K’NEX Building Sets, K’NEX Thrill Rides, K’NEX Education, Lincoln Logs®, Tinkertoy®, NASCAR®, Angry Birds™, Mario Kart Wii™, Mario Kart 7™, Super Mario™, PacMan™ and more. Since 1992, The Rodon Group, a subsidiary of K'NEX Brands, L.P., has manufactured over 31 billion parts for the K'NEX building toy system. Join us as we help build the leaders of tomorrow. For more information, please visit http://www.knex.com or http://www.rodongroup.com.
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