Marble Design Rules

This competition designed for all ages revolves around using a marble to accurately time a 1 minute period without the use of electrical equipment or human involvement. This competition will be prepared prior to Expo and judged for accuracy, uniqueness and presentation.

Rules

The design should be built beforehand and brought to Expo with the participant and must be able to fit inside a 5' × 5' × 5' box. You are not required to bring the design in a box however there will be a box there and any design that does not meet the requirements will receive a 10 point deduction.

Each contestant will be allowed 15 minutes upon arrival to make any final preparations to get their design ready. They will then have one practice run with at least one judge present and 5 minutes to tweak their design if necessary. After that, they will have two trial runs and the best time will be used to award points. Once the marble is placed into the design and the run begins, no human contact is allowed until the run is finished.

The objective of the design is to accurately time out a one-minute time period by sending a marble through the device such that the marble reaches a set point in the design after exactly 60 seconds. The end point of the device must be clearly marked for the correct stoppage of time. A total of 50 points will be available in this category of the judging and will be awarded as follows:

This design is also judged based on the uniqueness of design. This category will look at the originality of materials used as well as the different, unconventional ways that a material is used in. 30 points will be awarded in this criteria based on what materials are used and how they are used. Materials can include, though are certainly not limited to, piping/tubing, plastic, cups, toilet paper rolls, cardboard, construction paper, Styrofoam, toys, etc. At least one marble is required in the design and must be used to signify the end of the run though the use of other objects like ping pong balls, bouncy balls and other ideas are acceptable.

Creativity, uniqueness and originality are encouraged in the design and will be rewarded in the judging though accuracy should be the first concern. Materials are expected to be objects commonly occurring around the house and purchasing materials is discouraged. Electronic devices that require batteries or electricity like watches and motors are not allowed.

The final 20 points will be awarded in presentation. This category is judged on the aesthetic appeal of the design as well as good sportsmanship and overall effort in building the design. Examples of great presentation could include designs with a theme, artistic designs or creative additions to the design. Also, participants that show good sportsmanship towards other groups will earn points in this category.

There is a total of 100 points for the judging of this competition. At the completion of the judging, final scores will be tallied and the winners will be announced. Basic prize packages will be awarded to the top-five point scoring designs though the goal of this competition is to have fun and learn engineering principles, not to win a prize.

Groups are allowed to have up to 4 members. Parents, teachers or other responsible adult guardians should supervise the construction of the design; however the ideas and the building of the design should be done by the participants with minimal aid.

If you have any questions about the competitions taking place at Expo please contact our Competitions Chair, Ben Koch.