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How to Build a Plastic Marble Machine for Kids

Kids love playing with and building marble machines--contraptions that a marble can travel through until it comes out at the bottom. Although you can buy a marble machine at a store, making it is a fun activity that children of all ages can enjoy. Challenge a group of kids to a marble machine-building activity, and encourage them to make their machines as complex as possible. Young kids may need some help with this activity from an adult. Ask them to collect parent-approved materials for their machines (other than the pegboard) from around the house or from a craft closet.

Things You'll Need

Large pegboard
Plastic funnel
Wooden dowels (the size of the holes in the pegboard)
Pipe cleaners
Plastic electrical conduit/plastic tubes (several)
Plastic rulers (several)
Strawberry basket
Marble

Instructions

- 1
  Stand up the pegboard against a wall.
- 2
  Poke two small wooden dowels into two holes in the pegboard. (The holes should be a few inches apart but at the same level.) The dowels should protrude several inches from the board.
- 3
  Place the funnel between the dowels so that the dowels hold it in place.
- 4
  Align a plastic ruler with the bottom of the funnel, slanted down slightly.
- 5
  Wrap several lengths of pipe cleaner around the ruler, and stick the ends of the pipe cleaner into the holes in the pegboard. Twist the pipe cleaners to secure the ruler to the pegboard.
- 6
  Place the end of a length of plastic tubing beneath the end of the plastic ruler. Secure it in place with pipe cleaners, using the same method used for the ruler. You will probably need to bend the plastic tubing for it to successfully catch the marble as it falls from the ruler.
- 7
  Alternate plastic rulers and plastic tubing until you reach the bottom of the pegboard. Encourage kids to think of creative ways to use other materials, such as masking tape to hold things in place, a crayon to stop the marble from falling off of a ruler, or a piece of string to tie two rulers together.
- 8
  Use pipe cleaners or dowels to attach a strawberry basket below the last component of the marble machine.

Construction Toys