The cheers from the gymnasium on the SUIS Qingpu’s 3rd floor still echo in our ears.
On 21 November, the custom marble machines crafted by 3rd-grade students made their collective debut. In front of the colourful devices, children pulled their peers to share gameplay and darted around with marbles to experience different machines; the sparkle in their eyes was brighter than the glowing score circles. This two-week Project-based Learning (PBL) project, “Super Marble Mania – Your Marble Factory,” was guided by the philosophy of “Learning by Doing, Thinking through Playing.” It not only carried forward the joy of the European Intercontinental Carnival, but also unlocked the infinite potential of innovative thinking for 300 children through hands-on practice.
Launched on 7 November, the classrooms bid farewell to traditional teaching models and transformed into “innovation workshops” that sparked creativity. Following the historical context of European marble machines – from elegant tabletop games in royal salons to public entertainment in cafés, from Galileo’s inclined plane experiments to the dynamic aesthetics of Baroque art – the children uncovered the interdisciplinary codes hidden within the machines step-by-step. In self-formed teams, the seeds of innovation had already sprouted: team leaders reserved “creative discussion time” during coordination; theme designers refused to settle for conventional patterns and tried integrating campus scenery into their designs; structural engineers pored over basic launching mechanisms, repeatedly wondering “Can it be more labour-saving?” Every child nurtured sparks of innovation through their roles.
At the kickoff meeting on 14 November, a “dream-support team” consisting of Chinese, Maths, English, Art, and STEAM teachers safeguarded the children’s innovations. Chinese teachers guided them to transform whimsical ideas like “Earn rewards by knocking down rainbow blocks with marbles” into logically clear rules, giving concrete form to their creativity. Maths teachers used rulers to teach them to calculate track angles, explaining that “precise data makes innovative designs more stable.” STEAM teachers’ guidance ignited passion for device innovation: one group, dissatisfied with the basic launcher, took the initiative to modify the structure using LEGO gears and thick springs. After five rounds of adjustments, they finally created a custom device that “requires half the effort to press and achieves more accurate launches” – this unconventional attempt was the starting point of innovation. Art teachers led the children on a “journey” to European art halls: Kandinsky’s lines and Mondrian’s colour blocks were rearranged into unique decorations on the marble machines, perfectly integrating technological innovation with artistic creativity and endowing each machine with a soul.
Over the two weeks following the kickoff meeting, classrooms across all subjects became “refueling stations” for innovative practice. The children faced problems head-on with their inquiry notebooks and optimised their plans with creative ideas: when “launchers got stuck” some proposed attaching smooth stickers to contact points to reduce friction; when “marbles deviated from the track”, one group tried adding adjustable baffles to the rails; when “rules were too simple” they designed dual modes of “single-player challenge” and “two-player battle”, plus an interesting clause allowing “bonus points for creative explanations after mistakes”. Another student noticed that other groups’ devices took up too much space and brainstormed to design “foldable tracks.” These practice-driven innovations made the marble machines more and more “thoughtful”.
21 November, the Exhibition Day, was a grand showcase of innovative achievements. An hour in advance, the children made “final optimisations” to their machines: re-testing launch effects while tightening screws, and highlighting their innovative points when adding decorations. As soon as the exhibition began, the gymnasium transformed into an innovation showground: in a Mondrian-style marble machine, a child added a light-sensing device that lit up corresponding colour blocks when marbles passed through; a Picasso-themed device featured a rotatable track that changed routes with a twist of a knob; the most eye-catching was a “modular marble machine”, whose structural engineer proudly introduced: “Our launching mechanism uses a LEGO worm gear structure, which saves half the effort compared to the basic version and can control the launch distance.” The children explained their innovative ideas confidently. When actively experiencing others’ works, they asked: “How did you come up with this mechanism?” Their notebooks were filled not only with merits but also with “innovative points worth learning from.”
This PBL project, which involves “playing” at the surface and “creating” at its core, embodies profound educational wisdom: marble machines once nearly disappeared due to misunderstandings but were reborn through people’s innovative transformations. Similarly, the children learned in this process that innovation is not empty imagination, but the courage and wisdom to discover and solve problems through hands-on practice. From staring blankly at materials to proactively modifying devices, from copying rules to designing custom gameplay, the children’s innovative thinking took root and grew with each attempt.
“Super Marble Mania” was never just about making marble machines – it was a growth journey centered on innovation. In today’s era of rapid AI development, knowledge can be acquired quickly, but the innovative thinking and problem-solving abilities nurtured through practice are the core competencies that will equip children for the future. Going forward, SUIS Qingpu will continue to build more creative stages, allowing the innovative concept of “Never Stop Playing” to flourish, and enabling every child to keep thinking in exploration and shine in practice.