Rigamajig Basic Builder Kit

• Grades: PreK-6
• Number of Students: Recommended 2-8 at a time
• Number of Lessons: 20 Project Plans & 20 Play Prompts
• Additional Resources: Assembly Instructions, Play Prompts, Project Plans

Highlights:

The Rigamajig flagship product, the Rigamajig Basic Builder, is a large-scale, loose-parts building and engineering kit. The Basic Builder Kit inspires STEM / STEAM learning by empowering children to follow their curiosity through hands-on, open-ended, creative, and collaborative play. Big pieces, big ideas, endless possibilities!

Sturdy, durable, and made-to-last, the Basic Builder Kit is curriculum-compatible and ideal for schools, children’s and science museums, libraries, community organizations, maker spaces, camps, recreation centers, after-school programs, or anywhere kids gather to play and learn!

Curriculum or Lesson Topics:

Core STEAM & Engineering Topics

• Simple Machines & Mechanics: Exploring mechanical advantage, force, motion, direction, incline planes, levers, gears, and pulleys.
• Structural Engineering & Design: Understanding balance, weight distribution, stability, load-bearing structures, geometry, and spatial reasoning.
• Systems Thinking & Rube Goldberg Design: Creating chain-reaction contraptions, ramp networks, and cause-and-effect paths.
• Transportation & Locomotion: Building functional vehicles, wheel-and-axle setups, steering mechanisms, and rolling structures.

Social-Emotional & Process-Based Learning

• Cooperative Problem-Solving: Shared resource management, collaborative design, negotiation, and teamwork.
• Iterative Design & Failure Analysis: Prototyping, testing, troubleshooting structural failures, and adapting plans mid-build.
• Inquiry & Open-Ended Play: Responding to open-ended challenges (e.g., designing habitats, shelters, functional tools, or imaginative creatures) using the official Play Prompts and Project Plans.

What’s Included:

The Rigamajig Basic Builder Kit contains over 260 parts total, housed on a mobile cart with storage bins.

Wooden Building Components

• Planks: Solid Baltic birch wood planks (approx. ¾" thick) ranging in length from 12" to 44" with pre-drilled holes for connecting.
• Wheels & Pulleys: Large wooden wheels and pulleys designed for creating simple machines, rolling structures, and mechanical systems.
• Brackets & Hooks: Wooden angle brackets and attachment hooks for creating structural frames and corners.

Hardware & Fasteners

• Wing Bolts: Large, easy-to-grip threaded wing bolts (made of 100% recycled nylon).
• Hex Nuts: Threaded nylon nuts designed to hand-tighten easily onto the wing bolts without tools.

Ropes & Cordage

• Ropes: Durable woven ropes in various lengths for rigging pulley systems, hoisting, and tying components together.

Storage & Mobility

• Rolling Cart: Heavy-duty cart with swivel casters that holds all components (weighs approx. 149 lbs total when loaded).
• Storage Crates: 2 milk crates that fit into the cart frame to organize and store smaller hardware pieces like nuts and bolts.