Thames & Kosmos Pinball Machine Maker

$44.991

The sweetest pinball machine ever! Build a pinball machine that uses edible gumballs as the pinballs. First, follow the step-by-step instructions to assemble the machine. Then lay out the targets and obstacles on the playfield. Finally, test and refine your design while you practice your pinball skills! Hit the targets with the gumballs to score points. The gumballs whiz around the machine, bouncing off bumpers, spinning spinners, ringing the bell, and sliding down tracks. Can you shoot the gumball up the ramp and into the goal to ultimately claim your sweet reward?

The pinball machine has a spring-powered launcher that shoots gumballs into the sloped playfield, where they roll down toward the trough, interacting with obstacles along the way. The flippers above the trough are operated by buttons on either side of the machine, flicking the gumballs back up into the playfield. Various targets around the machine represent different point values when triggered. A central ramp can be rotated to shoot gumballs into three elevated playing areas, and ultimately down the winning ramp, where the gumball can be claimed as a sweet prize. When gumballs do fall out of play and into the trough, a cool mechanism called an Archimedes screw stores them and moves them back toward the launcher again for a new game.

By building and playing with this pinball machine, you can explore lessons in physics and mechanical engineering as you build and play with the pinball machine. Learn about force, motion, collisions, simple machines and more. Includes approximately 45 delicious gumballs (99 grams).

Gumballs included!
Have fun engineering a pinball machine
Make gumballs do fun stunts and trigger targets while you learn physics lessons
A truly fun gaming experience: practice to hone your pinball skills
Customize the playfield again and again with the movable parts
Learn about gravity, motion, and more — even some simple math lessons with money.
Fun, gamified approach to engineering lessons with a sweet candy reward
Refill your machine with standard machine-size, 16-mm (5/8-inch) gumballs
Candy + pinball + STEM learning = a winning combination of fun and learning!
Pair with Gumball Machine Maker for a gumball engineering fantasia!