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Marble Painting

In this activity, students practice their coordination and observation skills and produce paintings using only marbles, paint, and tilting a tray.

Sometimes things roll so fast, it's hard to see exactly where they go or what they do! But we can use paint to record where something rolls.

Round the Circle: printable guide.

These activities are part of Science World’s Big Science For Little Hands program. They were developed and tested with preschool and kindergarten educators.

Objectives

  • Move a marble and produce artwork using only tilting motions.

Materials

  • Per Student:
    liquid tempera paint
    marble or small ball
    shallow box (use a rectangular cake pan, or cut the back off a cereal box)
    paper
    spoon
    small bowl (for paint; can share with table of students)

Key Questions

  • Where did the marble go?
  • How do you know where it went?
  • Can you make a curved line?
  • Can you get the marble to the middle of the paper?
  • Can you move the marble in a circle? Does it make a circle in the paint?

What To Do

  1. Cut paper to fit the bottom of the box. (Teacher Tip: You may wish to pre-cut the paper, or, depending on ability, draw lines where you want students to cut.)
  2. Pour a little bit of paint into the small bowl. Drop a marble into the paint.
  3. Scoop the marble out of the paint with your spoon and drop it into the box with the paper.
  4. Tip the box to roll the marble around.

Extensions

  • Use more than one colour of paint.
  • Roll more than one marble at a time.
  • Use small balls with textured surfaces instead of marbles.
  • Use a rock dipped in paint instead of a marble.
  • Start with a dry marble and put a blob of paint on the paper. Challenge students to roll their marble through the paint.Use a bigger tray and have two students work together to steer the marble.
  • Use toys with wheels to make wheel tracks in paint, play-dough, or sand.

About the sticker

Survivors

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Egg BB

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Comet Crisp

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

T-Rex and Baby

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Buddy the T-Rex

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Geodessy

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Science Buddies

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Western Dinosaur

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Time-Travel T-Rex

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.