Welcome to your Gumball Machine Maker STEM Experiment Kit! This colorful gumball
machine is not just a fun toy filled with delicious candy. It is also a set of serious scientific
equipment for hands-on physics experiments!
There are 12 different segments of track and stunt devices included in this kit. Each one of
these is an experiment. You must experiment with them to get them to work.
HERE’S HOW TO USE THIS KIT:
1
Build the gumball machine
tower. Follow the instructions on pages 3–4.
2
Perform the
experiments with each individual segment of track and
stunt device on
pages 5–11. You will learn how each part works and
see what physics principles it demonstrates.
3
If you would like to
watch online videos with instructions and demos
for some easy track setups, scan this
QR code:
4
Now you are ready to try the more challenging gumball machine
setups on
pages 12–20. Each of these uses multiple tracks and stunts.
See if you can get a gumball to make it all the way to the bottom.
5
Test out
your own track and stunt configurations too! Can you design a gumball machine
in which the gumballs make it to the bottom every single time they are dispensed?
IMPORTANT!
Your stunts will
not work every time. Sometimes gumballs
will fall out of the track or stunt device. We suggest placing the
gumball machine in a tray, in the lid of a box, or on a piece of
fabric like a tablecloth to prevent the gumballs from rolling all
over the place when they fall out. Do not eat any gumballs that
fall onto the floor.
The
normal variation in the weight and shape of the gumballs
will cause some gumballs to perform better in the stunts than
others. It’s physics!
If a stunt doesn’t work as you expected it to, adjust something
and try it again. You can do it!
Turn the
dispenser knob clockwise to dispense a
gumball. If the knob
gets stuck, turn it counter-
clockwise. This will release the gumballs and help
clear jams.
Dispense gumball
Release stuck gumball
START HERE!
2
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