Cardboard Marble Rollercoaster Banked-Turn Funnel

45 mins Ages 5-6 Indoor

A playful, screen-free adventure designed to spark curiosity, sensory exploration, and fine motor skills for kids aged 5 to 6.

Materials Needed

  • • Cardboard paper towel or wrapping paper tubes (3–4 tubes)
  • • Blue painter’s tape (1 roll)
  • • Large plastic kitchen funnel (1 unit)
  • • Glass marbles or wooden beads (2 units)
  • • Kid-safe scissors (1 pair)

Pro Tips

  • → Cut cardboard tubes in half lengthwise to create open-trough tracks.
  • → Tape tracks to a wall or couch side with steep drops leading into banked turns so the marble doesn't jump the rails.
  • → Direct the track exit into an upright plastic funnel so the marble swirls in circles before dropping into a cup.

Safety First

Keep small marbles away from children under 3; supervise scissor use.

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Step-by-Step Instructions

1

Step 1

Cut 3 cardboard paper tubes in half lengthwise with scissors to make 6 open U-shaped track sections.

2

Step 2

Tape the tracks onto a wall or door with painter tape, angling slopes downward in a zigzag path.

3

Step 3

Position a plastic kitchen funnel at the base of the lowest track to catch the speeding marble.

4

Step 4

Release a marble from the top and adjust track angles until it smoothly travels the course and swirls in the funnel.

What they are learning

Centripetal curve banking physics Potential-to-kinetic energy conversion Momentum path engineering