Are marble runs fun (worth buying)?

[iaam]

Just wondering - do your kids have and play with a marble run? Do you think it would be a good toy for a 3.5 year old?

[BeachBum]

My DS is about to turn 6. We have the quadrilla one (wooden). It is a really nice toy, but still too hard for him to use alone.

You might find a plastic one that stays together well that he would enjoy dropping the marbles in, but the "building" part is where the toy is.

[vonfirmath]

Just wondering - do your kids have and play with a marble run? Do you think it would be a good toy for a 3.5 year old?

My 3 year old got a marble run for Christmas. He played with it ALL the time at first (putting marbles in, etc.) we put it away after a while but he still plays with the marbles and asks for it so when mom and dad feel like putting it together again, we will.

We got the idea because the 4 year old room at Sunday school has a marble run in it nad all the kids want to play with it when it comes out, without fail.

For older kids, building may be the fun. But at 3 they can enjoy watching the marbles go down, etc.

[larig]

it is always very popular with the 2+ set at coop preschool. Usually a parent in the area helps the kiddos set up several and they go to down dropping the marbles.

[DebbieJ]

We have a plastic one from Discovery Toys that I snagged at a garage sale. That thing has gotten TONS of play! DS1 used it a lot from ages 4-6. Now it just gets pulled out occasionally, but it is still fun!

[jerigirl]

http://www.amazon.com/Poof-Slinky-4600M-Amaze-N-Marbles-60-Piece/dp/B00000IZC9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311090151&sr=8-1
DS got this one last Christmas. He really enjoys it.

[Karenn]

My kids play with theirs once in a blue moon. I'm so glad I got it at a thrift store and didn't pay close to full price. For my kids, that would have been a huge waste.

[hellokitty]

It's fun, if you YOU don't mind being the one who has to set up the track for them. At 3.5 yrs old, unless you get a very simple set, it may be frustrating for your child to build his own track and sometimes even keeping tracks together (they can topple over easily) can be frustrating. I personally think that unless it's a very basic marble run with only a few pieces, that this is a toy better suited for children over the age of 5.

[erosenst]

We have the Quadrilla one. Pretty sure she got it when she was four, and spent a lot of time putting marbles down it etc. for 18 months or so (?). She also had fun handing us the pieces as we built it, sorting pieces when it fell down, etc.

It went away for quite a while, but came back out 6 months ago or so. DD is now 7, and can put together complex runs by herself. While it hasn't gotten a LOT of use, once a month or so she'll happily spend 30 minutes building a new shape and using it.

As someone with terrible spatial skills, I'm thrilled she can read the instructions and happily put it together - totally worth the cost (and having it set up in our great room...)

[LearningAsWeGo]

We also have the Quadrilla - I love the look and idea of it and my older son loves the idea of it, but he gets pretty frustrated when it falls apart with the slightest bump. I bought it b/c it was a screaming deal (I think Garnet Hill was clearancing them out years ago) and b/c I liked that it was wooden, but now that I know what I know, I would go for something that snaps together. He does love building different runs, though.

Also, now with a toddler in the house, we have to be extra careful with the marbles to make sure he doesn't get them.

[cilantromapuche]

We love our quadrilla one and even bought all the add ons. For us it is a winter toy because summer is so short!

[new_mommy25]

We have a plastic one only because I got it brand new at a rummage sale for $1. The kids have lots of fun with it but they still need my assistance. I like the look of the wooden block style because it looks as though kids could do it on their own. Even the Quadrilla looks like it would need adult assistance.

In the meantime, here are some fun activities to do with your DC:
http://myhomespunthreads.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-5-marble-racetrack-with-serving.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+homespunthreads+%28HomeSpunTh reads%29&m=1

http://servingpinklemonade.blogspot.com/2010/03/marble-run.html

http://servingpinklemonade.blogspot.com/2011/06/marble-run-ii.html

[emschwar]

We have the Quercetti set (actually 2 of them) and DS2 LOVES it. We got the first for DS1 and he liked it, but never to the extent DS2 does. (DS2 actually started playing with it as soon as he could stand well - he has always loved watching the marbles. So much so that we got another set for him for his 3rd birthday so we could build bigger sets, and I'm actually considering buying ANOTHER set for his 4th birthday.)

I have to put the course together, but if I take the 20 minutes to do so, it'll provide him with days of entertainment.