Marble Run

I first discovered Marble Run when my children were young. They loved putting together the sections of tubes and ramps together to make paths for the marbles to run. The children spent hours trying out different configurations of height and length. At first they would make the marble run extend out from a main column only to find that with no support they would have to add more sections to hold the marble run up.

The process involved in experimenting with the Marble Run may be the most valuable experience children get from playing with marble works. Each time they try another configuration the kids are honing their skills in patience, experimentation, and inquisitiveness. Can a child of 5 or 6 begin to learn the principles of physics? Yes, they can!

Come roll construct runs and drops to create a marble run. Try it out and keep on experimenting. Come play with the marbles...

Photo Credit: Haba Ball Track Construction Set

Available from Amazon

Photo Credit: Marble Run

Used under creative commons

A marble run can teach the physics of the way that water flows downhill.

Tell the kids they are going to experiment with the way that water flows. Tell them that the marbles will represent water and the marble run will represent the rivers and streams flowing across the landscape. Ask them to construct a place for water to flow. Can they make the water flow in any direction they choose? Will they be able to make the water go up? Ask for predictions and then be sure to take lots of pictures.

Once the children are ready for demonstrations, ask the children what they have learned from their marble runs. Did they discover that water flows downhill?

My children loved their Galt Marble Run. It is made of high quality, thick plastic that is difficult to break. The pieces of the Galt Marble Run stay together easily. The pieces of this marble run are large enough for average sized marbles. The Galt Marble Run might seem to be more expensive than other brands but you will not regret your decision to choose quality over quantity.

Build the marble run high. Build the marble run long. Add as many marbles as you like. This is by far the best marble works available.

Photo Credit: Marble Run

Children can learn about engineering when building a marble run. Have you ever tried building one on the stairs?

You will need to measure the heights of the risers in order to get the Marble Run to set steadily on each of the stair treads.

What a thrill it is when it is all set up and the first marble makes it all the way down...

Quercetti Super Marble Run Vortis, 224 PiecesI just picked up this version of a marble run at a local thrift store. Included in the mix was another marble run were some Galt pieces. It wasn't until the children and I began to putting the pieces together that we realized that there were two different sets put together.

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The children in the summer program range from 5 to 12 years old and all of them are very interested in the marble works. The children experiment with different configurations to see which interesting ways the marbles can follow the tracks, slopes, drops and water wheels to descend down to the bottom of the run.

The first next thing we noticed was that the Galt Marble Run was big enough for any marbles to work, but the Quercetti Marble Run only worked with very small marbles.

As you play each of the marble games in this book, look for ways that you are learning about science. Certainly you can use the scientific method to determine which ways you manipulate the marbles serve best for each game. By experimenting and changing one aspect of the game at a time, can you improve your abilities or chances to win?

A hands-on way to experiment with the physics of marbles:

Photo Credit: Marble Run

on Flickr, Creative Commons

Make a medieval village from blocks and then add Roman Aqueducts using Haba Marble Run blocks and marbles. How could the aqueducts bring drinking water to the village? How could the flow of the water help to carry the waste away from the village? Use the marbles to represent the water. Use black marbles to represent waste.

Where would be the best place to build a Medieval village, on top of a mountain or near a stream? If the village was built on a hill, how could they obtain water? How could a marble run be used to show water flow?

Come write about your experiences learning and teaching with marbles on Wizzley and Zujava, a fun and easy place to express your opinion: