The built Pinball Machine kit

Smartivity bonus

Pinball Machine bonus activities

4 missions and 3 tinker tests. Can you win all 7 stars?

Four new things to try with your Pinball Machine. None of them are in the instruction book. Pick one, or try them all this week.

0 of 7 done

Tap Done! on a mission to win its star.

Your missions

  1. Mission 1 of 4

    Call your shot

    • Just your kit

    Before each launch, say out loud what you will hit: a Popper, the HIT Plate or the X-Fork. Hit what you called and those points count double. Hit something else and they count as normal.

  2. Mission 2 of 4

    One-flipper game

    • Just your kit

    Play one game using only the left Flipper, then one using only the right. Which side lost fewer lives? Why might one side be harder?

  3. Mission 3 of 4

    Ears only

    • 2 players

    One player closes their eyes while the other plays. From the sound alone, can they tell when the ball hits a Popper, the HIT Plate or the X-Fork? Swap after one game.

  4. Mission 4 of 4

    Design your own table

    • Paper + pencil

    Draw a pinball table on paper. Add one new target, say how many points it is worth and give your machine a name and a "special mode".

Tinker it

Change one thing. Guess. Test 3 times. Write it down.

  1. Tinker test 1 of 3

    Bank shot wall

    • Card + painter's tape
    • Pencil + paper

    What you'll change: Add a small cardboard wall on the playfield and turn it to steer the ball into the HIT Plate.

    1. A grown-up cuts a card strip about 3 inches long and 1 inch tall. Fold a 1/2-inch foot at each end so it stands up.
    2. Stand the wall in the open orange area, angled toward the HIT Plate. Tape its feet down with painter's tape. Keep it out of the Launch Lane and away from the Flippers and Poppers.
    3. Predict: will the ball bounce off the wall into the HIT Plate? Launch 3 times with the same Strike Ball, tapping the Launcher the same way each time. Keep your hands off the Flippers and count how many times the ball touches the HIT Plate.
    4. Turn the wall a little, tape it again and launch 3 more times. Then try a third angle.
    5. Write down the hits for each angle and circle the best one. Was your prediction right?

    What's going on: When a ball bounces off a flat wall, it leaves at close to the angle it came in, the way light bounces off a mirror. Turning the wall changes that angle, so it changes where the ball goes. Some speed is lost in each bounce, which is why the ball slows after it hits.

    Safety and undo: Nothing on the kit is cut or glued. A grown-up does all the cutting. Peel the tape off slowly when you finish and the table is back to how it was. Keep the marbles and balls away from little ones under 3.

  2. Tinker test 2 of 3

    Rough patch slowdown

    • Paper towel + painter's tape
    • Phone stopwatch

    What you'll change: Tape a strip of paper across the ball's path on the playfield, then swap it for a strip of paper towel the same size, and see how long the ball stays in play.

    1. Hands off the Flippers. Launch the Strike Ball 3 times with the same tap on the Launcher. Watch where it rolls most often. A helper times each run on a phone stopwatch, from the launch until the ball drops into the Gravity Field.
    2. A grown-up cuts a strip of printer paper about 4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Tape all 4 edges flat with painter's tape, across the path you saw the ball take. Keep the strip out of the Launch Lane and away from the Flippers, the Poppers and the HIT Plate. Launch 3 times and time each run.
    3. Predict: will a rough strip make the runs longer or shorter? Swap the paper for a strip of paper towel the same size, taped the same way. Launch 3 times and time each run.
    4. Write down all 9 times. Compare the three settings: bare, smooth paper and paper towel. Was your prediction right?

    What's going on: A ball rolling on a soft, rough surface sinks in a tiny bit and keeps having to climb out of that dent. That rolling resistance turns some of its motion energy into heat, so the ball slows down. It's the same reason a ball rolls farther on a wood floor than on carpet. The smooth-paper round shows whether just covering the playfield, tape and all, changes anything.

    Safety and undo: Nothing on the kit is cut or glued. A grown-up does all the cutting. Press every tape edge flat so the ball can't catch on it. Peel the tape off slowly when you finish, and the table is back to how it was. Keep the marbles and balls away from little ones under 3.

  3. Tinker test 3 of 3

    Magnet bends the path

    • Big fridge magnet + painter's tape
    • Pencil + paper

    What you'll change: Tape a big fridge magnet flat on the playfield beside the ball's path and see if it pulls the Metal Strike Ball off course.

    1. Check the magnet first. Set the Metal Strike Ball on a table and slowly move a big fridge magnet toward it. Does the ball roll toward the magnet?
    2. Hands off the Flippers. Launch the Metal Strike Ball 3 times with the same tap on the Launcher, and watch where it rolls.
    3. A grown-up tapes the magnet flat with painter's tape, right beside that path. Keep it out of the Launch Lane and away from the Flippers, the Poppers and the HIT Plate. Predict: will the ball curve toward the magnet, stick to it or roll straight past? Launch 3 times and count each result.
    4. Swap in the Marble Strike Ball and launch 3 more times with the magnet still there.
    5. Write down what happened for each ball. Was your prediction right?

    What's going on: A magnet pulls on things made of iron or steel, even without touching them. If the Metal Strike Ball contains steel, the pull bends its path toward the magnet. A glass marble isn't pulled at all. Not every metal is magnetic, so if nothing happens in step 1, you've still learned what your ball is made of.

    Safety and undo: Nothing on the kit is cut or glued. Use only one big fridge magnet, never small or button magnets, because swallowed magnets are very dangerous. Peel the tape off slowly when you finish, and the table is back to how it was. Keep the marbles, balls and the magnet away from little ones under 3.

Safety first: Keep the marbles and balls away from little ones under 3.

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