Easy Marble Painting

All you need for this fun, messy activity is an empty box, some marbles or other small balls and paint.

Things to investigate

Can you blow the balls into goals? Is it easier to blow a heavy ball or a lighter ball?

What happens if you tip the box up? Does the ball move faster the more you tip the box?

Does using more paint make the balls move faster or more slowly?

Method

We made some goals with some spare cardboard and sellotaped them to each end of our box.

We then dropped to marbles into paint and each player used a straw to try and blow the ball into their opponents goal.

We tested marbles, ping pong balls and soft craft balls to see which were the easiest to move.

After the straw blowing test we then tried moving the box around to try to move the marbles in the direction we wanted.

The more paint we added the harder it became to move the marbles. Can you think why this is?

Other ideas

Could you use the marbles to try some colour mixing?

Can you think of anything else we could test?

Suitable for Key Stage 1

Everyday Materials

Describe the simple physical properties of a variety of everyday materials

Working Scientifically

Observing closely, using simple equipment

Performing simple tests

Using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions

EYFS – Early Learning Goal

The child knows about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. 

Last Updated on September 15, 2015 by Emma Vanstone