The act of creation is important in the development of a child. Whether they are drawing a picture, helping you to create supper, or building a model, it is very important for a child to step back and say: “this is what I did.”

Even though any creative act is important, it is often more impressive to build something that is taller, faster, or stronger than what anyone else is building. K’Nex recognizes that need and has designed its toys to be one step beyond Legos with it comes to building impressive structures.

K’Nex is a snap together building toy that lets kids following instructions to build preplanned models or assemble the pieces however they want to construct creative projects. The K’Nex Lava Launch Coaster kit lets your older child create an amazing four foot roller coaster structure that, if properly assembled, actually shoots a roller coaster car through its daring twists and turns.

The Lava Launch is assembled from over 1200 pieces. This is no easy task, even for a preteen or teenager. There is a sixty page color coded instruction book, or for an added challenge, you can just look at the final picture and try to construct the whole thing that way. K’Nex says that it will take anywhere from a single afternoon to an entire week to construction the Lava Launch Coaster.

This means that when this toy is finally complete and your child is watching the coaster car rocket around the track that he build, he will be filled with a sense of accomplishment for his creation.

There is also the option of downloading a second set of instructions on the K’Nex website that lets you use the same pieces to create a second roller coaster of a slightly less audacious variety.

However, this means that the challenges of building don’t stop just because the first plan has been completed. Instead, the fun can go on for months or years as your child continues to dare himself to build larger, faster, and higher than ever before. All this is possible with the K’Nex Lava Launch Coaster.