Category: Toys

Climb on the Peace Train

If you have a nearby park with a grassy slope, ice blocking is fast summer fun. Ice blocking has been described as “luge for idiots,” however I think it’s more apt to say that luge is luge for idiots. Because it takes place on a grassy hill, ice blocking is about the safest adrenaline rush you can hope to find.

1) Buy or make your own ice blocks. If you have an empty freezer you can fill plastic tubs with water a few days ahead and make your own blocks. Use a circle of rope to make loop-handles on the sides.

2) Carry the ice to the top of the hill, place a towel on the block of ice and -wheeeeee!!!

Be sure to check ahead with the park officials. Some parks have banned ice blocking because, done excessively, it can kill the grass.

And if ordinary ice blocking is too tame for you, try adding a plywood ice block jump ramp.

Easy do-it-yourself ballistics

Here’s an easy, fast activity for a small group. Make your own foam finger-launched rockets. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Once you’ve made the rockets you can come up with dozens of other activities from Dixie Cup Shooting Gallery to Human Space Invaders.

For other do-it-yourself ballistics see: Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction