I ran a tennis ball down an enormous "marble" run I built in the garden. The pictures show each part of the run that I made. It is a fun, child-friendly activity, that can be done on your own, or with friends and family. Maybe you could create a competition between teams to see who can make a ball run that lasts the longest!

I used the swing frame and climbing frame to prop up the higher parts of the run. If you don`t have these, you could start the run lower or stack something up to get to the right height.

I would love to see "marble" runs that other people have built to give me more ideas!

Supplies

Any random objects

Step 1: Long Tube

The tube came from a new set of blinds.

Step 2: Funnel

I used 2 bits of wood on top of a flat bit of wood to create a funnel.

Step 3: Jump

The jump works amazingly!

It is just a piece of very bendy wood propped in the right position.

Step 4: Plaform

The boxes and lids here are so the ball bounces on them when it comes off the jump. It doesn`t need to be flat as the ball bounces over the ridges.

Step 5: The Great Push

The ball comes rolling down the ramp and into the other balls I have wedged between 2 poles (my stilts). It then pushes all these balls down the ramp.