Indoors · Building & engineering

Build a marble run

Tape cardboard tubes in a zigzag down a wall or fridge and send marbles racing to the bottom.

  • Ages 5–12best for 6–10
  • 1–2 hoursabout 20 mins of prep
  • Prepare days aheadplan below
  • Freenothing to buy
  • At home (inside)on a rainy day
  • Some helplow mess

Plan it

Good planning makes a good day. Tick things off as you go.

1Weeks before

2On the day

0 of 2 done ·

You'll need

From home

  • Toilet rolls
  • paper towel tubes
  • masking tape
  • scissors
  • marbles

To buy

  • Painter's tape (won't mark walls)
🪄 Wizard's tip

Use painter's tape on walls. It comes off cleanly, so you can leave the run up for days.

How to do it

  1. Cut tubes in half lengthways to make chutes.
  2. Tape them in a zigzag down the wall.
  3. Test with a marble and adjust the angles.
  4. Time the run and try to make it slower.

Younger kids: Big tubes and a ping-pong ball instead of marbles.

Older kids: Add loops, a funnel and a timer, and try to make the slowest run possible.

⚠ Safety Marbles are a choking risk for under-3s; use a ping-pong ball.

Builds Problem-solvingCuriosity & science thinkingResilience

Clean-up 10 minutes.

Make it a bigger day Pair with a cardboard arcade.

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Build a marble run