Frequently Asked Questions

HAPPY BUILDER provides educational incursions for school kids of all ages, professional corporate workshops and programs for businesses, as well as tailored workshops for public events.

Our workshops are tailor-made and consist in building large structures using KAPLA planks, encouraging creativity, logical thinking and team collaboration.

HAPPY BUILDER workshops have also been specifically designed to support the development of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills.

KAPLA® is a popular educational and team-building tool made of identically-sized pieces of wood ideal for building monumental constructions in teams.

Read more on the 'What is KAPLA®?' page.

Tom van der Bruggen invented KAPLA® in 1987.

Tom van der Bruggen dreamt of building his own castle! In order to plan his castle, he needed to build a scale model. All of the blocks and bricks that he had were too bulky and not suitable to build all elements of a castle. So, he made his own and KAPLA® was born! KAPLA planks are the perfect building material to create any and all architectural designs.

KAPLA stands for "KAbouter PLAnjkes" which means "gnome planks" in Dutch. Did you know that the creator of KAPLA®, Tom van der Bruggen, is Dutch?

Each KAPLA plank measures about 5 x 1 x .25 inches or 11.5 x 2.5 x 0.5 cm.

KAPLA planks are all natural and unfinished.

KAPLA planks are all natural and made from untreated wood.
 The KAPLA colour planks are coloured with a food-grade quality stain and are safe for children of all ages. KAPLA® is committed to safety and quality and each KAPLA planks is hand-sorted.

KAPLA® is magical because of the incredible structures that can be built!

KAPLA planks are simple! KAPLA kids of all ages can create simple structures or unbelievably complex structures using only balance and gravity.

KAPLA planks are made in Morocco.

KAPLA planks are made of wood that is grown in France. KAPLA planks are manufactured and made to be precisely perfect for building in Morocco!

KAPLA planks are made of a special pine wood grown in the south of France.

There is a certain amount of resin in the wood and that is what allows KAPLA kids to build unbelievable, gravity-defying structures! The climate and region where the forests are located are what produces this special quality in the wood.

KAPLA® is for ages 2+

KAPLA® is safe and ok for two year-olds to play with! 
Starting at age 3, children will start to stack and build with KAPLA®.
The more time that children spend with KAPLA blocks, the more that they will develop their building skills, creativity and imagination! 


KAPLA® is a great activity for parents, grandparents and children to enjoy side-by-side.

KAPLA® is not as guided as Lego® building and requires you to use your creative brain!

Learn some basic shapes using your building booklet provided in each box and trial your own creation.

However to get you started here are some free step-by-step construction guides available for download.

You should also check HAPPY BUILDER Instagram for some building ideas!

Have fun creating!