Cardboard and Marbles
Introduction: Cardboard and Marbles
In the Cardboard and Marbles workshop, participants use readily available household materials to design, build and play games. The workshop encourages creativity, engagement, and collaboration. Each session is designed around an activity or challenge as well as time for participants to work on individual or small group projects. Over the course of the workshop, participants are introduced to some basic cardboard engineering ideas, simple machines, and the design/engineering process.
Activities are designed to be supported by an educator, and can work in-person or remotely, in out-of-school-time or more traditional settings. Most materials are readily available or can be supplied to participants through a teaching kit.
Supplies
* Recycled corrugated cardboard, and assorted other recycled materials as available
* Cardboard saw/cutter (alternatively, many pumpkin carving knives work well)
* Tape
* Sharp, pointed scissors
* A sheet of printer paper
* Marbles, ping pong balls, and/or other small balls (the choice will depend on the projects and what is available.) If you are putting together a kit or maker space, consider including: two sizes of marbles, and ping-pong balls.
* Other household materials as available. If you are putting together a kit or maker space, consider including: colorful paper, tape, paper fasteners, rubber bands, construction paper, large paper clips, glue stick, hot glue, electric cardboard cutter, paper punch.
Be Safe: You will need to judge the safety of different tools and materials for your group’s age and abilities. The activities assume that participants will be able to safely cut corrugated cardboard. If this poses an issue for your group, you could substitute thin cardboard (like cereal boxes) that can be cut with scissors, or you can help cut the cardboard.
Step 1: Introducing the Cardboard and Marbles Workshop
Start by introducing the group goal for the Cardboard and Marbles Workshop: Building a set of playable games out of cardboard and marbles -- a mini-arcade. 294
You can look forward to playing the finished games together, showing them to others at an open house, or -- if you are working remotely -- sharing them virtually at the end of the workshop.
Some educators have used the “Caine's Arcade” video (see Resources) as a way of introducing the idea of a cardboard arcade. Group goals and structured challenges along the way provide support for participants with a wide range of experience. In engineering, limits or parameters can result in more creative problem solving and can challenge students to pursue unfamiliar directions. The ideal balance of structure will vary for different participants and groups.
Step 2: Brainstorm & Initial Plans
Brainstorm: Start by asking participants to describe any experiences they have had playing arcade games or other games with moving parts. Has anyone been to an arcade or game room? After this initial 1-3 minute invitation, transition to brainstorming a list of games that could be built out of cardboard and marbles, or cardboard and ping-pong balls.
While you do not want to lead a structured lecture about specific designs, it may help to have a few images ready to show if the brainstorm needs encouragement. Also, familiarize yourself in advance with the range of possibilities so that you can suggest possible directions to open up the conversation (the intent is certainly not to have everyone build copies of these ideas, the list is just to suggest possibilities). Here are some possible directions for games:
* Marble runs, for example: https://www.instructables.com/easy-to-make-cardbo...
* Skee-Ball type games, for example: https://www.instructables.com/easy-to-make-cardbo...
* Tilt-a-maze type games, for example: https://www.instructables.com/easy-to-make-cardbo...
* Pinball games, for example: https://www.instructables.com/easy-to-make-cardbo...
* Foosball type games, for example: https://www.instructables.com/Cardboard-Foosball-...
* Table hockey type games, for example: https://www.instructables.com/easy-to-make-cardbo...
And together you can invent more!
Plan: Have participants think about an idea they would like to build and draw an initial sketch. You can use the project sheet (see downloadable: Our Design Process PDF), or just keep the sketches and add them to the Our Design Process sheet later. The sheet is designed so participants can document their evolving ideas, and to provide an entry point for discussing the design process (see Resources). 593