Construction toys for older children - any suggestions?

[prairiegirl81]

Hi, my niece is turning 9 soon (although she remains a very 'young 9' - i.e. she still loves playing with brio/dolls/playmobil etc) and I need to buy some presents! She really likes construction stuff, she likes magnetix, traditional blocks and marble runs, but has never been keen on lego :-( Does anyone have any suggestions as to any other construction-type thing that their kids really enjoy? Thanks, x

Knex?
StrawArt (which used to be called structure straws when I was 9)

Or just get more magnetix. With construction toys, it is always good to have LOTS of the same, not 10 different brands.

Do you know why she likes magnetix but not lego? That might give you an idea as to what she might also like. Otherwise I agree with Parietal having lots of the same kind of construction toy gives you lots more possibilities. Knex is cool :)

Knex or Meccano. There are some very cool meccano sets out there now.
Or would she like Airfix?

Thanks for all these suggestions! I will check them out! Can't believe I forgot about meccano - I loved that as a child! She has about 3 big boxes of magnetix already, but don't know why Lego never caught on, she used to like Duplo as a littlie!

Maybe she'd prefer a Lego set for a specific model like a house with figures or Harry Potter? Not sure about Meccano, dd(9) wouldn't really play with it. Or what about a 3-d puzzle