Pool Noodle Marble Run and STEM Activity for Kids

Make a simple pool noodle marble run! Pool noodles are amazing and cheap materials for so many projects. I keep a bunch on hand all year-long to keep my kid busy. Make sure to check out our most recent building activity with pool noodles. I bet you didn’t know how useful a pool noodle could be for trying out STEM activities.

POOL NOODLE MARBLE RUN AND STEM ACTIVITY FOR KIDS

To get started on your pool noodle marble run, an adult should safely cut up chunks of pool noodle. I used a serrated knife to cut the pool noodle into different lengths. Next, I sliced the pool noodle pieces down the middle creating halves. You will also need a roll of painter’s tape and of course some marbles!

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My best tip for creating the pool noodle marble run is to actually put the tape on the noodle pieces before you place them against the wall.

Make sure your tape piece covers the underside of the pool noodle right to the edges. This made it so much easier for us to accurately stick them to the wall.

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The best part of the pool noodle marble run was testing it! We didn’t get it quite right the first time, but that was the neat part. This was great for encouraging problem solving skills. He could tell which pieces needed to be moved more to the left or right or up and down.

A simple pool noodle marble run can turn into a great STEM activity for kids. We had the opportunity to talk about gravity and slope. We talked about the different sizes of pool noodles and how many we had to use. We also used our engineering skills to problem solve what wasn’t working.