So many games can be played with small round balls. We don’t really know who invented marbles because kids have probably always played with nuts, rocks, and small balls made from all kinds of other materials. But did you know that many marbles are made of glass?
Humans first started shaping glass about 5,000 years ago. When you heat glass up in a furnace, you can melt and shape it into many different kinds of shapes. The intricate design you see in many clear glass marbles means that these marbles were likely made by hand by sticking different colors of glass together in a process known as fusing. Glassmiths use a graphite mold to help them make sure that their marbles are round.
In the 19th and 20th century, German glassmiths produced many marbles. A German glass maker had created a special tool that made it easier to create a perfectly round sphere. American inventors transformed marble making by making it possible to use machines. Being able to make perfectly round marbles also helped manufacturers create perfectly round ball bearings.
Everyday Curiosity is a weekly magazine for kids aged 8-14 that explores math, science, and engineering. Each issue asks one big question and has three related hands-on projects to go deeper into the math, science, and engineering behind everyday observations. The projects use supplies that are already in the house or could be found easily at a grocery store, general department store, or (in rare cases) a hardware store.
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.