Spinners

Apr 28, 2020 | Marble Run!, Marble Runs, Uncategorised

Build Your Own

Marble Spinners

What You’ll Need

  1. designtemplate Spinners
  2. Cardboard (corrugated)
  3. Barbecue Skewer or similar thin wooden stick
  4. Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
  1. Straws
  2. Popsicle Sticks
  3. Rubber Bands

This activity will help you build ‘fidget spinners’ which will help push your marbles around and create traps for your marble run.

STEP 1

The Basics

As with all of our Marble Run activities, the first step asks you to glue your shapes from the Design Template onto a sheet of corrugated cardboard, and then to cut those pieces out

We will start with The Classic fidget spinner design.  Take the two pieces that ave large holes in the center and glue them together, paying careful attention to matching up the holes. The final piece with the small hole can be glued on top, and when that has been finished, take the skewer, and push it up through the bottom so it just peaks out through the small hole, where you can glue it in place

The Star design also follows this same technique, so you can finish that one as well

STEP 2

The Plus

The Next style of Spinner you will be making will be using the two rectangle pieces from The Plus. Following along with the images on the side, slide on rectangular piece into the slot on the other – they should fit together smoothly. After this, push a skewer up through the middle, and again, glue it in place after it pokes through

STEP 3 A

The Bouncer

The first step to building this spinner requires you to take four popsicle stick, and cut the ends of both sides. You need eight pieces all 4cm in  length

STEP 3 B

Next, add a line of hot glue 4/5th of the way along your popsicle stick making sure you do not have glue near the rounded edges. Press a second popslcle stick on this on, but before squeezing them together, place an elastic band into the mouth – the unglued section between the sticks –  and then press down making sure the elastic doesn’t touch the glue. When this dries, remove the popsicle stick and you should have a small gap that looks like a beak.

STEP 3 C

Next, take the pieces of The Bouncer and glue 2 of the pieces together. You see the gaps that have been left in this middle circle? Glue on your popsicle stick mouth pieces into these slots and cover up with the final large circle from the design template. Like the other designs, you can add the skewer through the middle and glue it on the top. The final step is simple – stretch an elastic around the outside of your spinner. It should catch in the mouth and be help there, creating an elastic wall around your spinner. Try and guess what will happen when a marble hits this at a fast speed

STEP 4

Attaching Them To Your Marble Runs!

To use these spinners in your Marble Runs, all you have to do its cut a straw into small pieces. Make a hole in your cardboard where you’d like your spinner to sit, and place the straw in this hole – try to keep about 1 or 2 cm sticking out before you glue it in place. You can thread the skewer part of your spinner through this popsicle stick, and using the Locking Rings, glue one onto the other end of the skewer to hold in in place.

And now you have your own fidget spinners to add to your Marble Run. What sort of crazy traps can 6you set up. Or can you think of another spinner or trap that would work better? Share your ideas with us on Instagram @steam_labs