Smartivity – Roller Coaster Marble Slide

Smartivity – Roller Coaster Marble Slide: With this kit, children can build their own Marble Run with the attached marble-pool player. Once built, a kid can raise marbles along with the wheel, and release them. As the marble slides down the track, they can alter the direction in which the marble will move with the help of levers on two sides. On the marble-pool part of the game, kids can place marbles in such a way that the striker marble coming from the slide track hits them and the strike sends them in the corner or side pockets.

Based on the fundamentals of gravity, centrifugal force and banking, this kit contains all the pieces you need to assemble a Smartivity Roller Coaster Marble Slide! Once you’ve assembled the wooden roller coaster frame, you can use the hand crank to raise marbles to the top of the slide and release them down the track.

Use the levers on either side of the track to guide the marble along its path. Or why not add a more challenging dimension to your game? Assemble the marbles at the base of the slide so that the striker marble comes down the track and hits them, just like a game of pool. Can you deliberately arrange them to move straight into the corner or side pockets of the board?

Concepts Involved

1. Gravity

   • Why do things fall?
   • How does gravity work?
   • Why do we slide down a slide?
   • How can gravity be used to create motion?

2. Banking

   • Why are roads built on a mountain full of twists and turns?
   • Why don’t we build a road like stairs?
   • How do centrifugal and centripetal forces work?
   • What is banking?

Recommended Age

Gifts for 8 year old