Create Colorful Marble Runs: Fun STEM Action!

Do you know those cartoons where one of the characters drops a bag of marbles on the floor, and everyone slips and slides and falls down? Well, don’t add marble runs to your Library Maker Space or school STEM lab if you are afraid of this happening!

I recently purchased the Q-BA Maze 2.0 marble run set. The marble runs come in a variety of color schemes (warm colors, cool colors, bright colors), and well as different size boxes and some newer sets with ramps, rails, bounce pads and other “stunt” add-ons. I divided our “Big Box” set into a couple of groupings.

There are three basic types of cubes: bottom exit, single exit, double exit. The students need to predict how the marbles will cascade down a tower of cubes.

Preventing Marble Mania

I put exactly seven (count ’em, seven) marbles in snack-size zip-lock bags for each group and asked the students,
“How many marbles are you starting out with?”
“Seven.”
“How many marbles will you end up with?”
“Seven.”
“How many marbles will fall on the floor?”
“Seven.”
“No…ZERO! I am NOT cleaning up marbles all over the library floor!”

Luckily, you can also buy “marble catchers” that attach to the bottom of your structure. I highly recommend them. That way, you can create colorful marble runs in your STEM Lab or Library Maker Space, without the mess!