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Marble Madness

Cub Scouts · Adventure, Elective

Printable worksheet (PDF)

Marble Madness is all about playing and building with marbles. You'll sew a bag, learn marble words, play classic games, and build tracks and mazes. It's part game, part engineering.

Why it's worth it

Marble Madness is part game and part engineering. You'll make your own marble bag, learn words players have used for generations, and play classic games with your den or family. Then you'll build racetracks and mazes and test them until the marbles roll just right. Engineers who design roller coasters solve the same kinds of problems.

Start this week

  1. Find an old sock, a scrap of fabric, or a bandana for your marble bag.
  2. Ask an older relative or family friend if they played marbles as a kid.
  3. Save cardboard tubes, boxes, and a pool noodle for building.
  4. Gather at least 10 marbles. Ask your den leader if the den has extras to share.

Stay safe

  • Marbles are a choking hazard for babies and toddlers, so keep them away from little kids. Let an adult do any cutting.

Requirements · 5

Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).

  1. Requirement 1

    Make a marble bag

    Tip: Use cloth and a drawstring, or an old sock, to make a bag for your marbles.

    For example: Cut a circle of fabric, punch holes around the edge, and weave a shoelace through so it pulls closed. Or tie off the top of a clean old sock with a ribbon.

  2. Requirement 2

    Learn five words used when talking about marbles

    Tip: Ask a grandparent or look up marble words like shooter and mibs.

    For example: Five marble words: a shooter is the bigger marble you flick, mibs are the marbles you aim at, a taw is another name for a shooter, knuckle down means keeping a knuckle on the ground, and lagging decides who goes first.

  3. Requirement 3

    Play three different marble games

    Tip: Play games like ringer or a target game with your den or family.

    For example: Play Ringer: set 13 marbles in a cross inside a circle and take turns shooting to knock them out. Then try two other games, like Plums or Dropsies.

  4. Requirement 4

    Build a marble racetrack that has two or more lanes

    Tip: Use pool noodles cut in half or cardboard to build a two-lane track and race.

    For example: Cut a pool noodle in half the long way to make two lanes, tape one end to a chair, and race marbles down. Change how steep it is and see which height is fastest.

  5. Requirement 5

    Build a marble maze

    Tip: Build a maze in a shoebox lid with straws or cardboard walls.

    For example: Glue straws or cardboard strips inside a shoebox lid to make walls, cut a start and a finish hole, and tilt the box to roll the marble through. Add a dead end or two.

Places to visit

Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.

  • A children's museum or toy museum

    Some have old marbles, classic games, and building exhibits that show how toys have changed.

    How: Have your adult check the museum's website for exhibits and family days, and go together.

Talk about it together

  • Which marble game was your favorite, and why?
  • What did you change on your track to make the marbles faster?
  • What was the trickiest part of building your maze?
  • What did you learn from someone who played marbles long ago?

Good questions to ask an older adult who played marbles

  • What marble games did you play as a kid?
  • Did you have a favorite marble, and what did it look like?
  • What were the rules about keeping the marbles you won?

Helpful reads

For leaders & parents

  • Have adults handle cutting pool noodles and cardboard.
  • Hold a race at the end of the meeting with everyone's tracks.

People & places that can help

Pairs well with

Counts toward

More Bear adventures

Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.