Fun with Physics: Build a Homemade Marble Run for Hands-On Learning

Yes, little ones can learn about physics! It’s one of their favorite subjects, in fact. We have known this ever since they began dropping their cup on the floor repeatedly so they could watch us pick it up. Remember back when you were cautioned to save those cardboard paper towel and toilet paper rolls for the future? Well, it’s time to break out your stash!

Materials:

• The stash of cardboard paper towel and toilet paper rolls you’ve been saving
• Masking tape, painters tape, or another strong tape that won’t damage your walls
• A bare wall with no furniture blocking it or paintings on it
• Scissors
• Marbles, pom-poms, or other very small balls
• A basket or plastic bowl to catch the balls

Setting The Stage For The Marble Run

Begin by placing the basket or bowl against the wall and taping one cardboard tube above it, pointing down into it, sort of like a funnel. Drop a marble through into the bowl and show this to your child. Tell them you’re going to be connecting lots of tunnels together to make a tube for the marbles to reach the bowl.

Next, choose a starting point for your marble run higher up and several feet away on the wall, but low enough for your child to reach. Tape up another tube here, but cut a scoop out of this one to make it easy to put marbles in.

Connect The Tubes And Test

Working together, connect the starting tube with the ending tube by taping up other tubes in between. Then, the fun part: test it! If the marble doesn’t make it to the finishing basket, figure out what changes need to be made.

Your child may want you to do the construction and only provide suggestions and input, or they may want to be very hands-on. Both approaches are great! They are learning either way. Little hands will at least need assistance cutting tape and cardboard rolls.

Make your marble run as fancy or simple as you like. Cut holes in the tubes for the marble to drop from one to another. Create multiple starting points and race your marbles. Move the starting point much further away or around a corner.

Teaching moments

• This project is the whole package! It builds social-emotional skills like teamwork, critical thinking skills like problem-solving, fine motor skills, and lots and lots of language skills as you communicate with your child about how to build the run and fix problems that come up.
• Your child really is learning physics as they work on this fun activity! Angles, gravity, slopes, velocity—it’s all there. Even without math equations and scientific definitions, they are learning how the world works and storing these experiences away for later.