Marble Run

Room 5 has had an exciting week building and creating their very own marble runs. The aim was to make the longest running construction. They were in teams and experimented with using different materials to make their ball move the slowest. They learnt a lot about teamwork!

Equipment

1: Cardboard (lots)

2: Foamy material (anything foamy)

3: Tape

4: Hot glue gun

5: String

6: Plastic cup

7: Scissors

What is it?

The Marble Run was a very fun activity we did in our class what we did. Is we got these huge sheets of cardboard, we cut them to our desired amount and then we added ramps and drops and walls and plenty more things. We added these things because the aim was to get your marble to roll down them for the longest time but of course the main aim was for our marble to get from the start to the end.

What happened?

What happened is we cut pieces of cardboard into ramps and other things and then we stuck them onto our long strip of cardboard using tape and hot glue guns. Creating a path for the marbles to run down however some people used ping pong balls meaning they would need bigger ramps so they could fit and roll down the ramps. We also used other materials such as plastic cups, this foamy material and plenty more. For example we would cut holes in the bottom of the cups creating a tunnel for the marble to go down. Some really smart people created elevators using string and cardboard. What would happen is the marble would roll onto it and since The marble is heavy the string would start moving pulling the elevator and marble downwards.

Building a Marble Run is challenging and teaches the fundamental concepts of engineering in a practical way. I recommend you give it a go.

By Leon Hodge-Harris