I Gift from Papa Claus and Christmas Carole

Noah's Ark Toy

My sister suggested I make an ark for my granddaughter. She has some little Noah's Ark figurines she had collected over the years that wanted to give to her niece. So as my first real project, I whipped up this toy over the weekend.

It is about 14" long and 5" wide. The sides are 3/8" plywood, while the base and the frame for the cabin on top are 3/4" pine. The roof is also plywood, but the deck is made of a piece of Pergo flooring. It is simply screwed together. I looked for pictures of ark toys on the Internet. I saw a few like this. I didn't have any plans, but the design is pretty straightforward.

The deck lifts off to allow one to store the ark figurines. I still need to add a coat or two of clearcoat. I also need to fashion a ramp for the animals to go on.

While rummaging around in the garage, we also found a box of small plastic toys that were our daughter's. In it were all sorts of animals. We will equip the ark with these animals. The figurines from my sister may be a little to fragile for our granddaughter, so the plastic figurines my be a good substitute for now. Maybe our daughter will recognize some of these toys.

We'll be bringing this gift at Christmas time. I hope the little one likes it. Now that I have the workshop up and running, there will be more toys from Papa Claus . . .