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I seem to collect empty toilet rolls, for the marble run crafts, I keep telling myself. Well, since starting this blog I think this is the second craft I have done that actually has a toilet roll in it! The first is a pair of binoculars by the way.
I have seen a few things floating around on Pinterest with kids using the long paper towel rolls as tubes which are either attached to a wall or fridge to make a kind of marble run.
I decided to try my hand at making a little tower marble run for the kids to enjoy.
For this marble run craft you will need:
- 11 Toilet paper rolls
- Cardboard base
- Tape
- Paint
- Glue
- Marbles / Pom Poms
I made 3 towers, 2 towers that were 3 toilet rolls high and a 3rd that was 2 high. Each is taped together with electrical tape, as that is what I have on hand. To connect the towers I cut 3 toilet rolls in half longways and taped them together to make chutes.
Next, I cut holes in the towers for the chutes to rest in, making sure that it was tilted downward to encourage the marbles to roll down. I tested as I was cutting with a pom pom to make sure the holes in the towers where high enough to allow the balls through.
For the base, I used a side of a cardboard box, marked the towers out, then glued them down. I left this overnight to dry completely to ensure that it was secure.
The next evening I painted the towers, chutes, and base (secretly, while the kids slept) and in the morning used my glue gun to secure the chutes in place before gathering our salt dough balls I had made from our last salt dough play batch. I don’t keep marbles with 3 young children.
Make sure that the chutes that the marble drops into is pushed as far back as you can safely get in there without breaking something 😉 We want to catch the balls.
My 4-year-old was most pleased with his nifty new toy! Salt dough balls went in the top and ran down to the bottom as intended with much excitement. A nice little craft and well received.
I do think older children will be able to help build but surely paint this craft with you. Unless you want to keep it a secret as I did 😉
My 3-year-old also came along to enjoy the run with his collection of pom poms.
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Devit Clark says
Greate blog. Find amazing ideas about your blog. Thanks
Willie Robinson says
May I ask you, what type of toilet rolls do you use for this project?
Hope you don’t mind 😉
Ashley says
Honestly it’s just what the store has when I go there. It could be Charmins, Scotts or Kirkland brand.
Dustin Anderson says
For kids, this is the best DIY idea, and yes, I defiantly use this in the future and bookmarked it; thanks for sharing.
Chelli Taylor says
This is a great STEM project to use something we all have lots of. My third graders are going to do it with empty plastic water bottles that I precut the ends off before starting their construction. They will be able to easily cut them in half for the connector paths. Being clear, they will be able to see the marbles go through the path. Another way to recycle for fun and get kids to try their engineering skills.
Ashley says
Great idea on reusing plastic bottles one more time.
Mayank Kumar says
This is really amazing, I’ve made a bigger one with 5 towers in it. Reason, I’m a teenager yet likes it this much. Will share it with my network as well.
Thanks for sharing creative with us, keep up the awesome work.
Ingrid de Bree says
I made this tonight for my almost 3 yo and he absolutely loved it! He also got over his sticky hands fear to play with the playdough marbles, a bonus. Thanks for this awesome idea!
Nicolette Roux says
Awesome!!
Lisa @ The Wellness Wife says
Great idea! An easy way to make such a complex-looking activity!
Heather Bowen says
This is such a GREAT idea! My girls love their marble run, but this is a frugal alternative that they can construct themselves for my nephews!
Angela says
This is a great idea – thanks so much for sharing. My daughter would love it. 🙂 I found this post at the Kids co-op.
Julie@teachinggoodeaters says
I think that even more brilliant than the toilet roll marble run is the salt dough “marbles!” My kids love marble runs and I can only imagine the fun they would have with this! Definitely pinning (and I’m going to need to start saving some toilet paper rolls!!)
Yvette says
I had some rolls too and I did what you did except since I had a lot more, I made a tunnel. I don’t know how quite to explain it but, it works really fast and the kids I was daycaring for had a blast.
They took the toy home!
Thanks for the great idea,
Yvette
Nicolette Roux says
Hehe! that’s hilarious!
Ashley says
Very clever! Thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library!
Debs says
Love it! We made a marble run out of cardboard tubes on a door once which was really fun. I love how yours is free-standing. Thanks for linking to Tuesday Tots. I’m featuring this post this week 🙂
Natasha says
This is a fantastic idea!! I have got to try this with the kids. I would love it if you could share it on my link party Serenity Saturday
Natasha @ Serenity You
Vicky @ Mess For Less says
I was thinking of painting these in Fall colors to make a fun game for the kids for turkey day. Thanks for the idea!
Bridget says
Found this wonderful idea on Pinterest. My four year old loved it. Thanks for sharing!
Nicolette Roux says
So glad your little one loved it!!
Amber @ Mamas Blissful Bites says
Absolutely LOVE this idea! I can’t wait to make it and see the smile on my preschoolers face! Thank you!
Pinkoddy says
This is fantastic. I always have loads of empty rolls and balls floating around. Shall pin.
Candace Lindemann says
Clever and fun!
Lauren Frank says
This is awesome! I pinned it to make for my daughter this week. She will love it!
Emma says
This may only be your 2nd toilet paper roll craft…but it’s an awesome one! I love that it actually worked, unlike most of my efforts at marble runs! lol
Barb @ A Life in Balance says
I love it! Thanks to 5 kids, we go through about a million rolls of toilet paper each week. I keep looking at them thinking I need to do something with these. This is a great rainy day/winter afternoon craft activity when I’ve got 5 kids stuck inside. I’ll start collecting now for that day.
Stacey-Barry Tappan says
We just did something very similar but put them on the deep freeze! My DD loved it!
Carla says
This looks like so much fun…for the kids *and* me! I pinned it to my (CarlaINHouston) Awesome Preschool board! Thanks for sharing it!!