Comments on: DIY marble runs – part 1

By: julia

julia — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 01:02:39 +0000

This is great! The name “blueberry rollercoaster” reminds me of the book Jamberry … my (2 1/2 yr old) son just loves that book.

By: Stac

Stac — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 19:41:56 +0000

After reading this I found a package of marbles at a local drug store for a buck. There were over 100 marbles in the package. They all looked the same, but what a deal.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 07:00:32 +0000

Great ideas! My five-year-old son has been crazy about marbles since term 2 of school started (the craze hass well and truly taken over the school). He has worked in marbles with dominoes - using falling dominoes to trigger marbles rolling, and vice vesa. Try it! Another idea i've been hoping to try is at Rob's Bearing Trampoline Game, where marbles run down a slide to bounce off a series of 'drums' or trampolines. He has detailed instructions, including a video. With the ideas shared here at Kiddley, I'm sure I can fix up a cheaper, simpler version I can put away easily!

By: Hsien Lei

Hsien Lei — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 10:56:24 +0000

I love marbles. They’re beautiful, feel great, make a satisfying sound, and inexpensive enough to collect a lot. That said, for toddlers and babies, it’s easy to substitute the concept of marbles with large superballs and make heavier duty runs for them that are as simpile as a halved paper towel or toilet paper roll. Today we used up the last of our gift wrap which has a nice long core.

I loved this post so much I featured it at Play Library.

Toy Talk #13

By: Norm

Norm — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 14:27:07 +0000

These are all great ideas!

My dad has told me that when he was young, he and his friends would make marble tracks but putting two garden hoses together and putting the marble in the valley between. He said they would bank it and even make loops. It sounds like great fun for kids who are a little older.

By: Phil

Phil — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 02:03:12 +0000

Hi Rita, it’s true that marbles can be dangerous for toddlers and babies; this activity is definitely targeted at kids who know the difference between marbles and candy; and as with all our activities, parental supervision and involvement is recommended.

By: T. Huff

T. Huff — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 01:25:26 +0000

I have also used foam pipe insulation cut in half, along with masking tape. You can make loop-di-loops, jumps, corkscrews and many other forms

By: Cassandra

Cassandra — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 21:56:03 +0000

In my preschool class, we use plastic rain gutters. I bought a couple of 6 footers and cut them down with a sawzall. Kids used them as tunnels, marble raceways with hal & half bottles to mark off a bowling lane, skis, you name it, they tried it. Great creative play item!

By: rita susana

rita susana — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 18:00:53 +0000

i think marbles are dangerous for kids as they might attempt to put them in their mouth which could choke them. marbles seems very attractive and looks like candies…

By: rhelynn

rhelynn — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:53:28 +0000

That is great fun! My mom used to drape soft blankets ‘tent-style’ over several chairs. We would use the tunnels and runways created in the cloth in the same way. Usually a few stuffed animals or a box would catch them as they zoomed out and onto the floor. Low-tech, but easy cleanup )