Make Your Own K'nex Ball Maze!

It's time for a vacation! You finally get to leave the remoteness of Alaska to fulfill your lifelong dream: being an Artist in Residence at Instructables Headquarters! You are so excited to leave you can hardly contain yourself! You have been waiting a long time for this opportunity, and now you will finally get to meet your friends on the Instructables team! The feeling of happiness and contentment just keeps growing and growing...

Until there is an announcement on the intercom.

"Attention please; American Airlines flight 254 from Anchorage, Alaska to San Francisco, California has been delayed by three hours. The staff at Ted Stevens International Airport would like to apologize for any inconvenience."

Your flight has been delayed. Darn... What are you going to do now?!

Not to worry! Using the K'nex you keep in your carry-on bag, you can easily build a fun and aMAZE-ing K'nex Ball Maze that will keep your mind in awe for the remaining three hours and well into your flight! It is a quick build, but one that can easily entertain you and those around you!

What are you waiting for? I know you have three hours, but trust me, you will want as much time with your maze as possible!

To build the K'nex Ball maze, you will need:

-9 white connectors.
-23 blue connectors.
-37 yellow connectors.
-67 grey connectors.
-49 red connectors.
-8 orange connectors.
-8 "Y" connectors.
-4 blue rods.
-104 white rods.
-201 green rods.
-1 ball, which can be a ping pong ball, a golf ball, a K'nex ball, or a ball of a similar size and weight.

Slide two grey connectors together as in pictures 1 and 2. Repeat to get seven pieces, and connect all pieces using green rods, as in pictures 3 and 4. Next, add a red connector to each end if the piece, as in pictures 5 and 6.

Repeat to get two identical pieces, as in picture 7.

To build the various rows of pieces in the floor pattern, you will first need to know how to slide together a blue connector and a grey connector, as in pictures 1 and 2.

Make one of each of the different rows of pieces as shown in pictures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Next, arrange them as in picture 11, and connect them using white rods, as in picture 12.

Connect seven yellow connectors together using green rods, as in pictures 1 and 2. Repeat to get two pieces. Next, add the two rows of yellow connectors to the rest of the maze using green rods, as shown in pictures 4 and 5.

Next, make the two separate rows shown in pictures 6 and 7, and 8 and 9. Make sure the blue connectors are facing upwards! Connect the pieces using white rods. Add the two walls to the rest of the maze using green rods, as in pictures 10 and 11.

Add corners to the maze by using red connectors and white and green rods, as in pictures 12 and 13.

Add rows of yellow connectors to the interior of the maze as shown in pictures 1 and 2. One wall has a red connector, which is secured to the floor of the maze using a white rod, as in picture 3.

Add grey connectors to connect the interior walls to the exterior walls, as shown in pictures 4, 5, 6, and 7. Fill in all spaces using white rods, as shown in pictures 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

To build a path blocker, simply attach a "Y" connector to an orange connector, as in pictures 1 and 2. Repeat to make two pieces, and attach both to a blue rod, as in pictures 3, 4, and 5. Repeat to make four path blockers total.

Add the path blockers to the maze floor where shown in pictures 7 and 8. The blue rod should be on the top of each path blocker, secured in the adjacent interior walls, as in picture 9.

Add two green rods to a red connector, as in pictures 1 and 2. Repeat to get 40 pieces total. Add them to the floor of the maze as shown in picture 4.

Once you have added the ball to the starting point of the maze, as in pictures 1 and 2, you can start solving the puzzle! Simply tilt the maze to get the ball to roll, as in picture 3.

Your aMAZE-ing K'nex Ball Maze is now complete! No more long hours of boredom while you wait for your plane to arrive! Remember, be nice, and let the other passengers around you have a try as well! The fun you will have will make your flight seem to arrive in no time! Until then, enjoy your brand new K'nex Ball Maze!