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How to Make Marble Runs

Marble runs make marbles go up and down and all around. They are constructed in many different ways, using all sorts of materials. Purchase commercial marble runs at considerable expense, so why not utilize some odds and ends around the house and make your own? Making your own marble runs is easy and an ideal opportunity to teach kids about the force of gravity---without gravity, your marble "run" would be a "marble sit."

Things You'll Need

Cardboard tubes
Utility knife
Cardboard box
Pencil
Hot glue
Balsa wood

Instructions

Cardboard Run
- 1
  Cut most of the cardboard tubes (found inside paper towels or toilet tissue rolls) in half lengthwise with the utility knife---the number varies depending on the size of your box and the length of your tubes. Cut two or three more tubes into 3-inch segments.
- 2
  Draw a line that spirals around the inside of the cardboard box, starting from the top that works its way down at about a 20-degree angle.
- 3
  Glue the half-tubes along the pencil line, so they look like a water slide. Connect the tubes with the 2-inch sections, and even glue a 3-inch section vertically at the end of some of the half-tubes, with the beginning of the next half-tube at the bottom of the vertical segment, like a marble chute.
- 4
  Continue gluing the pieces along the spiral line, until you reach the bottom of the box; let dry. Drop a marble into the first half-tube, and watch as it spirals its way around the inside of the box and comes out in the bottom of the box.
Balsa Wood Run
- 5
  Cut a balsa wood sheet, around 20 by 20 inches, with the utility knife. Cut another 10-by-20 sheet, five 20-by-1-inch balsa wood strips and five thin 20-by-3/4-inch pieces.
- 6
  Cut the 10-by 20-inch sheet in half lengthwise, then glue each side to the edge of one of the 20-by 20-inch sides, so that the 20-by-20 sheet stands vertically between the two base pieces.
- 7
  Glue each thin 20-by-3/4-inch strip onto the side of the 20-by1-inch strips, so that they each have a rail edge along one side.
- 8
  Glue on the strips, rail edge outward, at a 20-degree angle down the side of the sheet. Start flush with one vertical side of the 20-by-20 sheet, 1 inch between the other side and the end of the strip. Glue the next strip starting flush from the opposite side, forming a sideways "V"; the marble will fall in between the 1-inch gap and land on this next strip. Repeat to form a zigzag pattern until all the strips are attached; let dry.
- 9
  Drop a marble from the top strip, and watch it zigzag down the face of the board, dropping between each strip.

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