Marbles are one of the oldest toys known to humanity. The earliest are estimated to have been made in 2500 BCE, and writings from the Roman empire show us that Roman children played with them much like kids might today. Of course, a modern child has no shortage of entertainment, but there’s still something to be said about the simple, visceral joy of a toy like the one here.
ANCIENT TOY, MODERN DESIGN. The marble tower here is based off of the many marble run toys you may have seen in toy aisles — or, like me, had as a child. As simple as a marble is, a run isn’t much more complex, and most are just a series of ramps for a marble to travel down. However, our designer, Chris Fitch, wanted something a bit meatier for this project, which led to the pump tower that feeds marbles from the bottom to the top.
As you may have gleaned from the
