Wall Coaster
Marble Run Experiment

Introduction: 

Wall coaster is a fun educational activity that can also be used for science experiments related to force, motion and gravity (physics).

Just stick it to the wall and let your imagination soar! The Wall Coaster uses the basic laws of physics and gravity to enable hours of fun and imaginative play. The Wall Coaster comes standard with over 16 feet of track! Plus, it is super easy to use. Recommended for ages 5 to adult.

There is NO assembly required. Simply take out the track and tubes from the package and affix two small pieces of coaster tack (similar to standard reusable poster putty) to the back of the desired pieces and push onto the wall. The coaster tack is created specifically to attach to walls without leaving any marks. By “trial and error” you will learn what works and what does not work - this is part of the fun!

wall coaster package

Use it as a Science Project

To use the wall coaster for your science fair project, you may mount it on your display board (made of foam board or corrugated plastic board). The most common experiment using this kit is:

"How does the slope affect the speed or a rolling object?"

Project Question: How does the slope affect the speed or a rolling object?

Sample Hypothesis: I hypothesize that the speed will increase when the slope increases.

Display board: Your display will include some low slope tracks and some high slope tracks. You will show that the rolling marble moves at a higher speed on the tracks with higher slope.

Experiment:

1. Assemble and mount three 20-inch long tracks on a wall or display board. Each track must have a different slope. For example you may try the following slopes:

  • 5% slope (One end of the track is 1 inche higher)
  • 10% slope (One end of the track is 2 inches higher)
  • 15% slope (One end of the track is 3 inches higher)

2. Place a marble on the upper end of each track and record the time (Number of seconds) it takes for the marble to reach to the opposite side.

3. Record your data/ results in a table like this:

Slope Travel Time
5%  
10%  
15%  

4. Use the above data table to make a bar graph with 3 vertical bars. Name the bars 5%, 10%, and 15%. The height of each bar will be the number of seconds it took for the marble to travel the length of the track. (For example you may make a 5 inch tall vertical bar if it took 5 seconds for the marble to travel the length of the track).

Other possible experiments:

You can also study to see how does the mass (weight) of a marble affect the speed. In this case you will need to use marbles made of different materials. For example a marble made of steel is heavier than a glass marble with the same size.

Features:

What makes the Wall Coaster different: All other regular marble runs are built from the ground up like a building and only include a few feet of track. The Wall Coaster is different! It is not about the number of pieces but the length of track. With the Wall Coaster you get OVER 16 FEET in one kit!

PLUS....
Because of the unique design, you can mount it on a display board as a part of your science fair project display.

Wallcoaster PartsEach kit comes with the following parts:
5 - Four inch coaster tracks
15 - Ten inch coaster tracks
4 - Six inch coaster tubes
4 - Coaster retention bands
4 - Specially designed lightweight crystal marbles
1 - Package of reusable non-marking coaster tack

4 - BONUS Glow in the Dark marbles

 
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