Oscar winning actor Tom Hanks once said, “You cannot look up at the night sky on the Planet Earth and not wonder what it’s like to be up there amongst the stars.” You have to admit, you can’t help your imagination run wild when you look up at that vast expanse! How many stars are up in the sky? Is there really life somewhere out there? I’m sure your kids will have many more questions, thanks to their unlimited imagination – just like the wide sky up high! And it’s this imagination that you can encourage with the new BuildWithHotWheels campaign!

Get out-of-this-world Fun with Hot Wheels! #BuildWithHotWheels

I’m pretty sure you know the smiling man in this picture – yes, it’s Rob, of MAD fame! Rob is an expert at DIY and he’s brought his talents to this super-cool video! Here, he combines various Hot Wheels track sets and components with DIY to create an amazing, out-of-this-world space station! Let’s check out Rob’s latest video to see how he’s done it!

In this video, Rob uses the extremely versatile Power Booster Kit, which connects with all other Hot Wheels tracks. This means that you have endless possibilities to connect the tracks in all kinds of ways! You can create endless track lengths and any number of epic loops – multiple times over. In this space station video, the Power Booster Kit is connected to other Hot Wheels sets – Drop Force and Mega Race track sets. The result is an out-of-this-world setup, where you can let your imagination run wild!

As impressive as the resultant track is, the use of DIY elements completely transforms the terrain! Just like Rob, you can use cardboard tubes, juice cartons, lids, plastic bottles and other odds and ends to create some cool pieces that you would find in a real space station. I think my favorite has got to be the DIY space ship – it looks incredible. It’s unbelievable how things we tend to toss in the trash can turn into such awesome creations!

That’s one of the best things about letting kids use their imagination in crafting and making their own elements. Just hand them bits and pieces like the ones Rob has used, and let them use their creativity and resourcefulness through purposeful play in making their own versions of space station elements. You may just be surprised at the amazing stuff they come up with!

Learning through Play

As we’ve mentioned, recycling trash and other materials is a valuable lesson that kids can learn through DIYing and adding their own touch to their existing toy sets. But a setup like this one also opens doors of learning into many other avenues. For instance, kids are bound to wonder how real life space ships look like, and how they’re propelled into space. They’re sure to have many questions, which is excellent for learning! You can check out books or websites to learn more about space stations, astronauts and also about India’s contribution to space science.

So the next time your kids seem curious about the night sky and outer space, you know what to do! They can learn that a track system like the Hot Wheels tracks doesn’t have to be on Earth, you can also have them in space. By channeling Rob, kids can put their imagination to use and get crafting, building and learning!