Eli Whitney Museum

The Marble Tree project illustrates motion by building a spiral track for a marble to follow.

Parts

Attach the trunk to the base using the short anchor peg.


Prepare the branches by inserting the thin rods into the small platforms.

Attach the branches to the trunk in a descending spiral.

Glue the large platforms onto the small ones.


Now glue guardrails onto the platforms to help the marbles roll along the track.

Try it out! You may need to add extra rails or adjust the branches to get a complete spiral to the bottom. You may like to add a small cup to catch the marbles at the end.