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Sploosh is a self contained, outdoor toy that lets children create and play with moving water. It's ideal for urban gardens, decks, patios, courtyards and balconies.
Many water toys just plug a hosepipe into one end and waste the water once it hits the ground. Summer hosepipe bans and other water use restrictions in many countries mean that it is getting harder to let kids splash around with lots of moving water. Sploosh recycles its water again and again - and it operates entirely on kid-power, not electricity.
Sploosh in action:
Many water toys just plug a hosepipe into one end and waste the water once it hits the ground. Summer hosepipe bans and other water use restrictions in many countries mean that it is getting harder to let kids splash around with lots of moving water. Sploosh recycles its water again and again - and it operates entirely on kid-power, not electricity.
Sploosh in action:
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Signing UpStep 1Background to Sploosh
We have designed Sploosh to be fun, simple to use and durable and to recycle water to give as much fun as possible with minimal water use. It was originally designed for racing boats down the chutes and waterfalls but by adding Lego baseplates into the chutes kids can design and add their own rocks, dams, bridges, channels, waterwheels, whole towns for flooding and even science projects.
Here we attach the design we used. We live in Shanghai, China, where some of the industrial sized parts are relatively easy to find in shops. We have provided information for online suppliers for these parts in other countries wherever possible.
The original Sploosh design was intended to fit onto a garden wall in London, England. However, we moved into a high-rise apartment with no garden. Consequently, Sploosh developed as a stand-alone unit. This also allows the toy to flat-pack into the base for storage in winter.
All the dimensions for building this toy depend on the size of the base and chutes - and these vary from one supplier to another. We recommend you get the base, guttering and pump first, then build your Sploosh frame accordingly.
If your garden is suitable you can take the "Sploosh DIY - Design It Yourself" route. The chutes and pump can be attached to a house, garden wall, "Jungle-Gym", treehouse - whatever - and we have attached a few ideas here to get you thinking.
Special thanks is owed to the Sploosh Test Dummies: Alex, Caleb, Ryan, Jack, Cameron, Olivia, Eleanor, Isaac, Izzy, Alice, Oliver, Libby, Tom, Saskia, Matthijs, Casper, Anna and all in Mrs. Mills' 2006 Reception Year class at the British International School, Pudong, Shanghai.
nb: sand and pumps don't mix so better to keep it clear of the sandpit!
Disclaimer:
Children must be supervised at all times when playing with water. The writers cannot accept any responsibility for injury caused while playing with any item described here.
Sploosh name and trademark and the design described below are the property of Mr Jonathan Robson. They may be copied and adapted by individuals for use by their own children and their friends. For all commercial adaptations, uses or variations please contact jrobson1 at mac.com
Here we attach the design we used. We live in Shanghai, China, where some of the industrial sized parts are relatively easy to find in shops. We have provided information for online suppliers for these parts in other countries wherever possible.
The original Sploosh design was intended to fit onto a garden wall in London, England. However, we moved into a high-rise apartment with no garden. Consequently, Sploosh developed as a stand-alone unit. This also allows the toy to flat-pack into the base for storage in winter.
All the dimensions for building this toy depend on the size of the base and chutes - and these vary from one supplier to another. We recommend you get the base, guttering and pump first, then build your Sploosh frame accordingly.
If your garden is suitable you can take the "Sploosh DIY - Design It Yourself" route. The chutes and pump can be attached to a house, garden wall, "Jungle-Gym", treehouse - whatever - and we have attached a few ideas here to get you thinking.
Special thanks is owed to the Sploosh Test Dummies: Alex, Caleb, Ryan, Jack, Cameron, Olivia, Eleanor, Isaac, Izzy, Alice, Oliver, Libby, Tom, Saskia, Matthijs, Casper, Anna and all in Mrs. Mills' 2006 Reception Year class at the British International School, Pudong, Shanghai.
nb: sand and pumps don't mix so better to keep it clear of the sandpit!
Disclaimer:
Children must be supervised at all times when playing with water. The writers cannot accept any responsibility for injury caused while playing with any item described here.
Sploosh name and trademark and the design described below are the property of Mr Jonathan Robson. They may be copied and adapted by individuals for use by their own children and their friends. For all commercial adaptations, uses or variations please contact jrobson1 at mac.com
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One. have the pump put water in a tank above the upper gutter and have one or more small openings at the bottom to reduce the flow. this way they can pump the water for a while and still play without pumping for a bit after. Or have a spicket attached to the tank so they can control the rate of flow. and learn somewhat more of ohms law.
Two. If you were going to use a sump pump (althought this would reduce the amount of exercise involved in this) use a solar one. This way the pump is active only when the kids are going to enjoy this (nice sunny day) and you dont waste any electricity in the process.
We looked at a lot of pumps for this but the RP90 model was the only one we found that fitted all the requirements - hand operated, lightweight, high flow rate durable and easy enough for small children to use. And it has lots of bolts holding the casing together that can be removed to make excellent points for fixing it onto the frame.
It seems to be readily available and was the only expensive item in making Sploosh but I look forward to others trying it out and hopefully coming up with alternatives.