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Marble tracks are evergreen and long-lasting toys because you can use them to design many different types of play.
Organizing a marbles race is a perfect example of the versatility of the toy and can be a great learning opportunity for children. In fact, this type of game introduces a competitive aspect, which further extends the amount of play that is played with. Which track to choose? Obviously Hubelino! Hubelino’s 55-piece Marble Run Elements set expands the STEM potential of building bricks, like Duplo, and helps develop logic, motor skills, and creativity: a game that entertains and helps the child grow. But let’s see in detail what we are talking about and how you can play with the marble track.
How to create a perfect marbles track with Hubelino.
Let’s see step by step what to do.
- Make sure you have a high-quality marbles track: we obviously recommend the 55-piece Hubelino we were talking about earlier. It contains, as the box suggests, 55 pieces (including 4 large balls) that come together to create a marble track that can be simple or complex depending on your play needs. And that’s where we come to point two.
2. Decide what kind of race you’re going to create with your Hubelino track.
You can build a track with interconnected pieces or you can build two separate structures and try your hand at jumps. Building a track with interconnected trails requires a little more teamwork and planning, while separate structures allow for independent construction. Hubelino allows for both.
3. Divide the pieces of the marbles track equally.
Once you have decided what type of race to set up, divide the number of bases, tubes, and action pieces equally. This is very important so that the race is as fair as possible. As you set up the marble track, you may find that one side needs more bases or tubes than the other, which is fine. The key is to not have unbalanced paths. And that’s another key point that makes us recommend Hubelino.
With just a few pieces, you can have younger kids create smaller marble paths to understand how to build the structures in a balanced way and from there, create more creative paths. You can also add some height to the track as some of the pieces have built-in connectors that allow the Hubelino track to grow upwards as well. What’s special about this set, though, is that with the addition of additional Duplo-style bricks, the Hubelino is at its best. Kids can explore their construction skills and start learning about building design, gravity, and energy transfer (the relationship between kinetic and potential energy)
How to Create a Race with the Hubelino Track
Now that your marble race is ready, you have a few options on how to conduct it. You can run the marbles down the tracks at the same time, or you can use a tablet/smartphone/chronometer to time the marbles’ descent from top to bottom. We recommend trying both options and conducting the race at least three times before declaring a winner.
Advantages of learning to use the Hubelino tracks
Hubelino strongly believes in the value of marbles tracks as an educational toy.
Marbles races are a perfect learning opportunity for children and young people for the following reasons:
- Children can analyze which actions produce the fastest results and why.
- They learn basic physics concepts by noting how slope and length affect ball speed.
- They learn the concept of time and compare results.
- They gain the ability to analyze processes and make changes for faster results.
Organizing and executing a marbles race is also an opportunity for parents to work alongside their children and demonstrate problem-solving techniques.
Hubelino’s marble runs offer children many opportunities to both play and learn. Running a marbles race is just one of the many ways you can use your Hubelino track with kids but definitely the most fun!
