Ask Ollie
Marble Track with a Loop
Here's one to try together!
Build a cardboard roller coaster and see if your marble can survive the loop with Ollie!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- marbles are a choking risk for children under 3, keep them away from little ones
- scissors are sharp and need careful handling
What you need
- Cardboard box, 3 or 4 cereal boxes, or card stock
- Painter's tape, 1 roll
- Kid scissors, 1 pair
- Clear cups, 1
- Phone, 1 for the timer
- Cardboard box, 1 big box or a fridge door to mount the track on
- Marble, 1
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Gather everything on a table and pick a wall-like surface for the track, such as a big box or a fridge door. Keep the marble away from any child under 3.
- Cut your cardboard into long strips. Ask for help if you need it
- Fold up both long sides of each strip to make a channel.
- Tape the channels down the box, sloping downward, with one loop.
- Place the cup at the bottom of the track.
- Drop the marble from the top! Ask: Do you think the marble will make it all the way around the loop?
- Change the drop height and loop size until it works three times.
- Time one run with the timer. Ask: How many seconds do you think the whole trip will take?
- Now make the run slower without the marble stopping.
- Show your friends, or build another! How slow can you go? Ask: What did you change that made the biggest difference to the marble?
Play it again
- Slowest wins: see who can make the slowest run that still finishes.
- Double loop: add a second loop and rebalance the height.
- Jump gap: leave a small gap in the track for the marble to leap across.
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