Galt Galt Marble Run

Advantages: fun to construct and time-consuming for children, not great value for money
Disadvantages: you need more than one set, marbles get lost

I bought this marble run for my 3- and 5-year-old nephews. With the younger one it's me who ends up building it, and him who gets to drop the marbles down... it's suitably noisy fun for that toddler age group, and at 28 I still quite like constructing things, so it's not a big hardship! The older one however is happy to have a shot at building and will spend quite a while constructing his own marble run. He'll probably become an engineer like his ...
...you build first, which is the fun bit, then release and watch the effects. It's a very simple idea - you just fit the pieces together, drop your marble at the top, and watch it run through. A quick lesson in cause and effect! It's a lot of effort though, for a short-lived reward (just like sledging.) But if you enjoy the effort as well as the reward, then this game would be great fun. The set comes with 24 brightly coloured plastic pieces of various ... Read review

Advantages: Kids will love building it then making noise
Disadvantages: The marbles will get everywhere!

...first: Made by James Galt (http://www.galt.co.uk/) Relatively old now but still available in some places and online ( I found it on Mail Order Express - http://www.mailorderexpress.com/A0555KGaltConstructionMarbleRun.asp ) Price - £10.99 (Expensive for what it is IMHO) Having said that I have recently found two sets in different charity shops for 99p each!! Age Range – It says 4-7 on the box but I think 4 is a little young and 7 is too old. ...
...paddles included! ** James Galt has been making toys for over 150 years now (you’d think he’d have got fed up by now wouldn’t you?) and has been based in Cheadle since 1961. The company is a well-respected manufacturer of toys for the 0-10 age range and takes a lot of care to make toys that help a child to develop. Is it a good game? I have to say yes, but it’s a reserved yes. The novelty of this game will soon wear off and while my son has enjoyed ... Read review

Advantages: Good for eye tracking exercises
Disadvantages: its ok

We have a marble run at school it is made by Galt. I must admit I rarely use it with the children. T his set is made with bright primary coloured pieces of plastic. Curved pieces, tubes and shoots. In the basic set there are 6 chutes, 6 curves, 9 tubes, 3 bases and 6 marbles included. This basic set will cost you about £11.oo. There is a super marble run that costs about double the price and contains about double the amount of pieces. This toy is ...
...old The marble run is a construction kit all the pieces fit together in a variety of different ways. Children have to work out which way will be best so that the marbles will run fluidly along and down the run. When the run has been made a marble is released at the top and will run slowly down the chute around the curves till it reaches the bottom Few children will spend a long time constructing and reconstructing this marble run to work out the ... Read review

Advantages: Facinating, lots of ways of building it
Disadvantages: marbles are small and get lost

This is great for predicting and working out however it does need adult help to get them going if they are younger. The children are facinated and mesmerised by this and will put a marble down again and again watching it race to the bottom. This will help your child to problem solve as they work out which way the ball will go and how to make it go along all the channels, before it reaches the bottom. It is bright and sturdy but needs a steady ...
...and fine motor control as they have to take more care to stop it falling. Younger children tend to build up from one point which can cause it to fall but this is all helping them to learn. With supervision younger children can play too even if they just get to set the marbles going! Remeber that the marbles can be a choke hazzard though! ... Read review

Advantages: can be used a number of different ways,making the marble run
Disadvantages: not enough marbles in pack

i keep this toy at my house for my grand children aged 7 yrs,5 yrs 3 yrs & 2 yrs. they all like playing with it & all get different things from playing with it. the 7 yr old enjoys building it up while the youngest is happy to drop a marble in at the top and watch it make its way to the bottom via the various obsticles. the 5 yr old can manage to build it up with only the minimal help,while the 3 yr old needs quite a lot of help still. the marble ... Read review