Block Busters!

Visit the Fleet to discover the unique nature and unlimited possibilities of KEVA planks or try your hand at engineering amazing structures at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center’s interactive exhibition, "Block Busters!"

Building with your imagination from the ground up, use up to 15,000 wooden KEVA (Knowledge – Exploration – Visual Arts) planks to build structures from skyscrapers to suspension bridges!

The hands-on nature of KEVA planks will promote creativity, concentration, teamwork, design skills, and encourage social interaction. Each KEVA plank is uniform in size and shape, made from maple wood and measures 1/4 inch thick, 3/4 inch wide and 4 1/2 inches long. Structures are built by stacking the planks in an infinite number of ways, no glue or connectors necessary. Stacking the KEVA planks upright, they may look as unstable as a house of cards, but even this type of structure is surprisingly stable. Adults and kids alike cannot resist the draw of KEVA planks and will quickly find themselves building, interacting and collaborating together. Once your tower has been built and admired, you’ll quickly find that half the fun is in knocking it down.

The building possibilities at “Block Busters!” are as limitless as the imagination. Throughout the exhibition, model KEVA plank structures provide inspiration and excitement for budding builders. Displays will include a castle turret, a spiral staircase, sail boat, airplane and train. Visitors who want to take the “Block Busters!” challenge can test their skills with the following building experiments:

“Spirals” – Make a structure using spirals. How many different types of spirals can be made? How can the number of layers be designed in different ways to complete a revolution?

“Impossible Structures” – Build a structure and remove some of the planks to create a sculpture that could not be built from the ground up, such as an eagle or hexagon uprights.

“Think Like an Architect” – Build a tower as tall as yourself! Add patterns and structure to make it more beautiful or interesting.

“Minimalism” – Build a sculpture using only ten planks or objects with only the most essential elements –i.e. an airplane with three planks.

“My son Jake and I enjoyed building with the KEVA planks that was part of the “Tinkering” exhibition last year. We had fun working together on different structures, but our favorite part was building a tower that almost reached the museum ceiling and then knocking it down. Jake got a taste of what it’s like to be an engineer and can’t wait for the new exhibition to see if he can build an even taller tower this time.”
— Eric Johnson
Electrical Engineer