Break out the “World’s Best Dad” trophies, because this one deserves a trophy and more. Matthew Cosman, dad and engineer, took the idea of jungle gym and ran with it. Via Geekologie, he built a 48-foot dinosaur playground jungle gym for his kids. He modeled the gargantuan construction on the Apatosaurus, a huge and pretty harmless dinosaur. This sprawling jungle gym now lives in the Cosman’s backyard.
This DIY project was involved to say the least. In an interview with Bored Panda Cosman explained why he went all out. “I really did this and shared it for fun. I fabricate for a living because it’s my passion—I make fun things for me because no one will pay me to build these crazy things. I do have a history in aerospace engineering, so that played a big role here.”
At a height of 12 feet and a length of 48 feet, this passion project did not come easy or cheap. Cosman stated it weighs around 3,500 pounds. And that’s without the footing. That part alone, necessary to keep the dino safely standing, required 24,000 pounds of concrete. Wow. Cosman used quite a bit of steel, aluminum, and other materials that he tried to buy from classified and places like eBay. He did so over years, finally sharing the finished project along with tons of build photos on Imgur.
My backyard DIY dinosaur project.
This “backyard” project was so big that Cosman needed a crane to transport the pieces from his workshop to his home. There’s more to this dino than being gigantic though. This jungle gym features LED lights, so the kids can play at any time of day or night. It also comes complete with a rock climbing section, swings, monkey bars, and a small ropes course. This dino playground is basically an outdoor kids dream.
We hope your kids realize how cool you are, Mr. Cosman!
Featured Image: thecauseman/Imgur