Create Magic Jumping Beans

Materials you'll need

• Aluminum foil
• Marbles
• Cylindrical object to roll around (such as a marker or pen)
• Scissors
• Small plastic container with lid

 

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil and place it flat on your work surface.

Step 2: Set a marker or pen across one edge of the foil and roll the foil tightly around it to form a tube. Press and smooth as you go.

Step 3: Pinch and fold one end of the tube closed to seal it, so nothing can fall out.

Step 4: Slide the marker or pen out of the foil tube.

Step 5: Drop a marble into the open end of the tube, then trim the top with scissors so there's just enough foil left to fold closed. Seal that end the same way you sealed the first.

Step 6: Make a few more beans the same way, then drop them all into a plastic container, close the lid, and give it a good shake. Take the beans out and set them on a flat surface — then watch them roll, wobble, and jump!

Learn more

The magic is all about center of gravity — the point inside an object where all its weight is balanced. A regular cylinder rolls in a smooth, predictable line because its weight is perfectly centered. Your foil bean has a marble rolling freely inside, which means the center of gravity keeps shifting with every tiny movement. Each shift throws the bean off balance, sending it wobbling, veering, and jumping in unpredictable directions.