Family Team STEAM Challenge: Marble Run

V1 Staff |

The Family STEAM Challenge is all about experimenting with the ordinary to make the extraordinary! CVF challenges your family to think and play together all in the name of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (that’s where the STEAM comes in).

Each challenge can be completed as a family or a group of friends in as little or as much time needed; however, most challenges can be completed within one sitting. The Family STEAM Challenge is also designed to get all ages involved through hands on experimenting. So get ready to put your collective thinking caps on to design a seriously cool apparatus made almost entirely out of reusable or recyclable materials laying around the house.   

THIS STEAM TOPIC: Mechanics of Motion

The Objective:
Build a marble run that is no less than 2 feet long/tall made out of reusable or recyclable materials.

The Apparatus:
A track that is built for a marble or other round materials

The Challenge:
Include as many turns, loops, drops, dips, and ramps as possible to explore how different types of energies affect the movement of the marble or object.

Further Exploration:

• Energy: potential and kinetic
• Elevations
• Acceleration under gravity
• Centripetal force

Materials You Could Use (but Are Not Limited To): 

• Paper towel, toilet, or wrapping paper rolls
• Plastic bottles
• Duct tape
• Magnets (to attach the run to a magnetic surface, like a fridge)
• Paper plates
• Boxes, containers, or plastic cups (to catch the marble)
• Last season’s pool noodles

Incorporating the Arts:
STEAM is all about including the arts with the sciences. So for this challenge, decorate your tubes and other materials to create a beautiful wall or table piece that is aesthetically pleasing. 

Suggested Materials to Use:

• Acrylic paints
• Crafting paper
• Leftover holiday wrapping paper
• Mod podge – make your own or buy it at any box store/craft store
• Glitter, jewels, beads

Questions to Mull Over:

• What happens to the speed of the marble when you drop it at the top of the run, in the middle of the run, or towards the end of the run? Which seems to be the fastest, and why?

• What happens when you drop different objects, like Matchbox cars or rubber balls, down the run? Time each object’s run.

• Experiment with different materials when decorating. Do certain materials slow the objects down or speed them up? Why do you think that happens?

• What is absolutely needed in order for a loop or a ramp to work?