News Details

December 2025

What’s the best way to introduce our youngest students to concepts such as computer coding and computational thinking?

Rhoades Elementary teacher Toby Shirar had an idea: purchasing marble run equipment for his students, among the youngest in the district. With funding from the Wayne Township Education Foundation, he did that, and as you’ll see by the interview below - students are having fun with the equipment and learning some important concepts as well.

For people who aren't familiar marble run accessories, can you describe what they are and how they work?

Marble runs are sets of hands-on building pieces for kids of all ages that allow children to build a structure or path for a marble to travel through. Students start with a "marble catcher" which is just basically the starting piece for their build, but also the ending piece for their marble to land at the end of the "run." For those not familiar with the setup, it's basically a series of pipes or tubelike structures that students can connect together very easily and starting from the ground up, they create really something like a waterslide structure (without the water) for a marble to fall or run through. Gravity is the key here. The marble will then be placed at the starting point, typically the tallest point of the structure and dropped to allow gravity to do its magic and allow the marble to traverse through a variety of funnels, turns and other fun pieces.

How does playing with the marble runs help students develop the ability to do more complex things like coding, computational thinking, and engineering projects?

I feel like this is where the real magic happens, especially for our youngest learners. What they view as "playing with marble runs" is essentially laying the foundation for present and future computer science concepts. Students are using sequencing skills each time they determine which piece to add next. Sometimes the sequence of pieces they choose doesn't get them the result they want. Then they have to use problem solving skills to find the error and fix it, just like debugging lines of computer code. That's all a part of computer science.

When they finish the sequence, they essentially end up with an algorithm that gets the marble from one point to another. Then they can revise their work and add more pieces to enhance and stabilize the structure further. All of those activities are preparing students for what lies ahead in later grades with computer science. It helps them to become more independent thinkers, designers and problem solvers.

Are the students enjoying working with the marble runs? How often do they get to use them?

Yes, they absolutely love them! They get to work marble runs multiple times per semester.

How important is grant funding for materials such as these?

It is vital. The cost really adds up when you think about needing multiple complete sets for each class to use. The grant funding is crucial to making projects like this happen.

ABOUT THE WAYNE TOWNSHIP EDUCATION FOUNDATION
The Wayne Township Education Foundation (WTEF) provides community leadership to enrich, engage, and stimulate teaching and learning in the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township. WTEF accomplishes this by supporting school programs and resources, while recognizing excellence among students and staff. To learn more about WTEF, call 317-988-7966, visit wtef.wayne.k12.in.us, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @WayneTwpEdFound.