How to create a giant garden Kerplunk game

I've written in the past how we try and contribute to raising funds for my son's school by creating games for the Christmas and Summer Fairs.  Well, this year is no different, this year I'd set my sites on creating a giant outdoor Kerplunk game.

Yep, as soon as the sun came out, we were in the garden creating it!

I try and recycle wherever possible, and failing that the charity shops before spending out on materials to try and keep costs down, after all, I don't pass this costs on to the school, they are so underfunded they need every 50p per game raised.

Materials I used to make Kerplunk

Table - this was from a nest of tables which I got for free from a local free up group.
Wire purchased from Wilko
Sticks purchased from B&Q.
PaintSticks - perfect for covering the sticks with.
Softplay Balls for extra fun we've added large baubles with prizes in!

As this game is for Primary school children I want it to be as colourful as possible.   Rather than having just plain timber coloured sticks, I opted to use the new mini Paint Sticks from Little Brian.  They were perfect to cover the timber in the least amount of mess.

I bought cage mesh from Wilkos for £3.75 and used a bucket from home to keep the mould whilst we pinned then cut the wire to size.

Because this is for children we had to be extra careful with every edge.  The bottom was pinned to the table so that wasn't an issue.  The top was smooth but to be extra careful we added tape, encase little hands made there way up to hold on.

Finally, the joins around the middle were first bent round and then soldered to make them smooth.  It is so important to ensure this game is safe from sharp edges, splinters and anything that may bring harm to anyone.

We needed 2 dozen sticks to ensure the balls are balanced well within the cage.  The basket that we originally had to catch the balls was way too small, so we are going to use a larger Amazon box and recover it in spots to keep the theme.

This game has come out for the last couple of years now at the school and is such a hit.  It's a bit laboursome putting the sticks back in, and you need to have space for when the children pull the sticks out again, but other than that, it will bring the 50 pence pieces in.