Austin Wilson, 9, holds a Ferris wheel he constructed during winter break with kits from K’nex, a toy manufacturer. Next to him is a model roller coaster he built from thousands of K’nex parts. Both models are up and running in his basement. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Nine-year-old dreams of designing,
building real roller coasters
By Kevin Kelley
Westlake
Published Jan. 20, 2010

Austin Wilson loves roller coasters. But he’s not satisfied with simply riding them. The 9-year-old wants to design and build them when he grows up.

Actually, he already started. Over Christmas break, the Dover Elementary School fourth-grader built three large model roller coasters using kits from K’nex, a manufacturer of toy construction sets based in Hatfield, Pa.

“He has always been involved in moving things,” said his father, Brian, who is employed as a biologist. Austin began building toy train sets before moving on to roller coasters, Brian said.

One of the model roller coasters Austin built consists of more than 2,000 K’nex pieces, he said.

Austin made a video of his models for class. His teacher, Diane Burney, was so impressed she shared it with the school librarian and the principal.

“It got pretty big for a tiny video,” Austin said.

Austin has put his mechanical talents to use in areas other than roller coasters. For science class, he built a moving diorama out of K’nex pieces, including a motor, that models how bees pollinate flowers.

Austin’s favorite roller coaster is the Maverick at Cedar Point, which he became tall enough to ride last year.

On the Web:

• Link to video of Austin Wilson's model coaster