The Life of a Marble
An amazing machine | Suitable for 9-14 year olds
The life of a marble
Watch and listen to this incredible machine. How does it work?
Imagine how was it made.
Think about what materials were used?
Who might have created it?
How does it make music? Is it magic or science, genius or common sense, real or fantasy?Â
Thinking ideas
Machines and objects are great devices for stories.
Think about The Alethiometer from Northern Lights, the Box of Delights from Masefield’s classic, The Room of Requirement from Harry Potter, the Airships in Brightstorm, the TARDIS in Doctor Who, the holodeck in Star Trek and the ring in Lord of the Rings.
What will this machine do in your story? Will it have special powers?
Discussion ideas
Invent a character for a story who might make such a complicated machine.
- Will your character be an inventor looking to improve all of our lives?
- Would your character be an artistic superstar creating incredible music with new instruments?
- Might your character be a superhero or someone with magic powers.
- Or will your character be an arch villain, evil genius or mad scientist trying to take over the world?
Writing ideas
Write a story about an incredible machine and the person who invented it.
Be sure to describe the machine in intricate detail to draw the reader in and describe the unforgettable inventor who made it to help set up the story.
Perhaps create a problem with the machine that needs to be solved before your story ends.
Teaching ideas
Model how to describe the machine to fuel the reader’s senses.
- How does the machine sound, look, feel and smell?
- What emotions does it create in those to dare to go near it?
- Does it elicit fear, trepidation, excitement, wonder, amazement or something else?
Model using interior monologue to illustrate what the inventor is thinking and indirectly reveal their character.
Resources
- Here are some machine sound effects.
- Read about 1001 inventions – the rise of machines and robots – in a journey through the world of robotics.
- Read more about the Wintergatan band and marble machine on Wikipedia and Wintergatan’s website.
- Find out more about how the marble machine works.
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The Life of a Marble
Seeing things differently
Photo by Sid Verma on Unsplash
Imagine that you have created a spectacular water slide to take you directly from your home to your best friend’s house. To a bird high above you look like a tiny marble hurtling through a machine. Write a narrative to tell the reader how you created it, how you built it, and what it was like to take the first ride.
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