Long ago, before I held my current position, I used to work at the childcare center at the local court house. We had a variety of toys for little ones, but not many for older children (mostly we had toddler toys). Out of all the toys we had for older children (5+), hands down their absolute FAVORITE toy was the marble run toy.
You might have seen marble run toys before. They are colorful stacking tubes in a variety of shapes that you use to create a track to help get marbles from the top to the bottom.
The kids at work would play with the marble run the whole time they were in our care. Once it was set up, the kids would continually run the marbles through the “track.” Once they reached the bottom, the kids would grab the marbles, place them in the starting spot, and do it all over again.
It’s been years since I thought about that marble run toy.
Fast forward to now. I am currently a site director for a YMCA program. I am always on the look out for fun toys and games for my “work kids.” Even better if it’s something the various ages can do (I work with K-6th graders). If it’s something a group of kids can play together, than I consider it a “must have.”
I recently received a Marble Genius Set from the brand Creative QT. WOW! Talk about a “blast from the past.” It was the same type of marble run I remember from my courthouse days.
The Marble Genius Set is a collection of plastic tubes, stands (“feet”), and specialty pieces (wheels, zig zags, slides, “bowls”).
Setting up the Marble Genius Set is super easy. That’s because there really isn’t any wrong way to do it. You can configure it any way you want. You can make it as simple, or as elaborate, as you want.
I remember when I used the set at work. The kids always wanted to use every piece. That was fine with me. I put together the set so many times, I knew how I could help them use all the pieces.
The plastic tubes make up the bulk of the set. When you first open the box, the tubes are stacked on top of each other. You can put them apart to make the levels as high or as low as you need them to be.
I love how you can set this up to resemble a roller coaster (almost like a circle) or straight. Like I said, there is no right or wrong way to set this up.
The set comes with A LOT of marbles. THANK GOODNESS! Before I opened the box I was thinking about how I was going to have to buy more marbles because I had a feeling the kids at work would lose them. That won’t be an issue because there are so many marbles that I can keep a good portion of them “safe.” This way if they lose one I still have plenty available so that I don’t need to run out and buy more. After all, what good is a marble run toy if you don’t have any marbles?
With the Marble Genius Set you can use one marble on the track, or a handful of marbles. It’s totally up to you. The kids at the courthouse wanted to use all the marbles. Back then we only had about half a dozen. Now I have 50 marbles!
In total, this set comes with;
130 complete pieces – 80 Translucent Marbulous Pieces, 50 Glass Marbles, 19 action pieces, 6 solid bases including 1 large base to ensure maximum support.
There is even a Marble Genius app you can download for even more fun ways to set this up. There are so many ways it can be configured. You are only limited by your imagination.
I just did a simple set up to show you one easy way you can set this up.
Please accept my apologies. I’m not great at taking videos.
I think you could also use this as an educational toy. You could use this as a STEM activity and talk about things such as kinetic and potential energy, as well as momentum.
This is a great family activity, as well as a “screen free” activity.
I cannot wait to open this up at work and let my work kids have fun with it. I have a feeling it’s going to be a very popular activity. I won’t be surprised if some of the kids as “Santa” or their parents for one for Christmas.
The only (and I do mean ONLY) downside I have with this is that it’s not always easy to get everything back in the box. I feel like it’s a puzzle sometimes. For that reason I am going to look for a plastic container (storage box) for this. That way it’s easier for my littlest students to put it away when they are done playing with it.
If you are interested in learning more about Marble Genius, or to check out other fun things (including other marble run sets) at Creative QT, visit CreativeQT.com.
The brand can also be found on social media. Those links are found on the bottom right of the brand’s website.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.