National Geographic 100 PC Marble run: Creative, Engineering, Physics, Activity Guide Included

Love accurate and fast delivery so my Grandchildren’s Christmas presents are already wrapped and ready giving us time to enjoy each others company without stressing

Now that it's been a few months since receiving this toy, i can review it properly. They were excited about it the first week, taking it out to play with it regularly. At first it wouldn't fit back in its box, so they got one to set it in. After the first week, pieces ended up everywhere in their room and it wasn't easy to take it back out to play. It gets very boring very quickly, especially for kids over 5. I don't think it's worth buying this for how little you get out of it. It's not a toy for longevity.

Bought this brand new, and the motorized machine that is supposed to bring the marbles up, brought them down instead. Had to return and get another one

This is a cool activity! The instructions are easy to follow and it also comes with everything you need to make the marble run! This set comes with 100 pieces and is actually pretty big! Once it is put together, it is a lot of fun! Having the marbles roll around is fun to watch! I highly recommend this marble run, especially if you want something fun for your kids to do!

My son had a lot of fun with this! It comes with a lot of pieces but easy to follow instructions: it also has a nice bag you can put all the stuff in. You do need to make sure you have batteries as it requires batteries.

The National Geographic 100-piece marble run is a fun and engaging activity for kids. It encourages problem-solving skills when the marbles don’t run smoothly, making it an interactive learning experience. My kids loved experimenting with different configurations to see how they could improve the track. The colorful pieces are durable and relatively easy to assemble, allowing for endless creativity in designing unique marble paths. Some pieces were a little hard to put in place. The motorized section amazed my son as he watched the marbles spiral up. Overall, it’s a great way to keep them entertained while fostering critical thinking and fine motor skills!

Good summer activity for a board 5th soon-to-be sixth grader. My husband and I are all about play based learning in this kit from National Geographic has been a lot of fun for the whole family to put together. There is no hard and fast rule to how the marble run should be assembled and in fact, challenging yourself to make it as slow or as fast as possible is half the fun. Pieces fit together well but would be awfully hard to fit back in the box, thankfully they included a carrying case. A fun indoor activity would be nice to be able to get extension parts separately so you can make a more varied run. Would make a great birthday present and I think would be appropriate for age of six and up with supervision. The box says 8+

I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did but it turned out to be one of those toys that keeps kids and adults messing with it for way longer than planned. The pieces are solid and click together really well so you’re not constantly fixing things mid-play. We’ve already rebuilt it a bunch of different ways and haven’t had any issues with pieces falling apart or marbles getting stuck. It’s not overly complicated to figure out but still keeps their attention, especially once the marble starts flying through the loops and drops. Super cool to watch. My son got really into it and now wants to design new tracks every time we pull it out. Definitely worth the price, feels like something that’s going to last. Highly recommend if you’re looking for something hands-on and screen-free that doesn’t just get tossed aside after a day.

My son absolutely loves this toy. He has level 3 autism, so he like to watch the marbles roll in different ways. He also loves the spiraled piece that brings the marbles to the top. Great toy for sensory, conjunctive skills and fine motor skills.

I really like this motorized marble run by National Geographic. I think the clear, colored pieces add a cool element. The marbles are very pretty color and you are given quite a few! I am excited to build and rebuild this with my son who is obsessed with marble videos on YouTube!

I’m not sure who enjoys this marble run more— my almost 6 year old daughter, her dad, or me! I love that it’s something she enjoys playing independently or with us. The set comes with lots of unique curves and turns, and my daughter loves how many different runs she’s able to create. The motorized lift is such a cool feature because it means once you’ve created the run, you can watch the marbles automatically glide through over and over again!

I would give this product 3.5 stars. The plastic pieces are good quality, and the motor works well to bring the marbles up like a little elevator. I also love that there is a bag to keep all the pieces in. I do not like the instructions. They do not offer variations of how to set it up, only general advice without photos. I put ours together by looking at the box, but not all of the colors match up to what is pictured so it took a minute to figure out. The motorized part only goes through a very small section if you set it up according to the picture. We ended up changing it so sometimes the marbles go to the elevator and sometimes they come out. My last critique is that I wish there was another base piece.

I have an autistic nephew and he loves these. The magnetic of it in the creativity that it shows when you’re putting it all together it’s just magnificent. I love that it comes with over 100 pieces which means you can make it anyway you want it. A great gift for sure.

This set is for STEM exploration for sure! My 7yr son (and myself) loved creating different ways to see the marble go down what he called “the marble rollercoaster”! The parts are well made, thick/durable, colorful and creatively shaped. The pieces fit nicely together and is pretty solid. It also comes with a velvety drawstring bag to put everything in once you’re done playing. The marbles are a pretty blue colored glass. You’ll need batteries to power the tower that pushes the marble up in a swirl motion. I suggest having a small bowl or cup handy to place the marbles in so when they exit the maze, they won’t fall off the table, onto the floor and under furniture like what happened to us. The booklet that was included explained in kid language “what is physics” and “how gravity works” helping them to understand that you must create a “force” for the marble to go through and why some formations make it go faster than others. It even includes a section to document your times for each race. The reason for my 4 star was due to the fact that although it was a nice pamphlet, it provided NO CLUE as to where to start. Maybe that’s part of the fun later once you get started, but I need more than that with an impatient child who just wants to get started. If it wasn’t for the picture on the box, we wouldn’t know which parts go with others since some of the parts were packaged together that did not actually go together, but they fit together for packaging. If that makes sense. I wish there was a QR code to a tutorial video to showing ideas of how to get started. Not to take away from the imagination/exploration purpose of it, which is the whole point. It just would’ve helped if it was explained how to start and possibly how to end it so the marbles don’t go everywhere. Otherwise, this product is great! It’s well made and perfect for kids who want to explore the “how” and “why?” while being creative and learning about science.

The National Geographic 100-Piece Marble Run is a fun, engaging STEM toy that encourages creativity and problem-solving. The pieces are sturdy, easy to assemble, and offer countless design possibilities. Kids love watching the marbles zoom through twists and turns, and it keeps them entertained for hours. It’s educational, screen-free fun that sparks imagination and teamwork. Great for siblings or solo play. A fantastic gift for curious kids who enjoy building and experimenting.

As a parent this set is iffy. Kids love it but hard to put together (really gotta push em together) and it’s wobbly…. I tried to make it even but they don’t line up the best if that makes sense. Best if used on carpet. The glow in the dark feature is cool but wish it lasted longer.

This is a great starter kit to introduce kids to marble runs. It comes with lots of tubes, gears, and marbles so you can create a lot of different types of layouts. It definitely kept me daughter busy for a while. My only issue is the electrical lift that brings the marbles to the top of the marble run. It doesn’t come with batteries, so you have to put them in. The compartment door broke off as it somehow didn’t fit back after installing batteries. So now I have to tape the compartment shut in order for the loft to work. Other that this mishap, I really do like this kit as it comes with lots of pieces and helpful tips.

I'll admit I definitely played with this National Geographic Marble Run before I gave it to the kids. This was pure nostalgia for me. It was fun to put together. It's great for critical thinking and problem solving. The pieces are sturdy and fit together tightly, with over 100 pieces the combinations are endless. It came with a drawstring storage bag and instructions.

This has to be one of the most fun marble runs we have ever had. The battery powered piece is so cool and adds such a fun element! My kids continue to play with this over and over. It has become one of the most well loved games in our house.

My kids absolutely LOVE marble run and love this one even more because of the motorized feature. My kids spent hours playing and making different set ups. I love all the different tubes it comes with and the fact that it comes with its own bag is my favorite part too.