Take pinball to the next level by designing and building your own Super Pinball Machine packed with moving parts, challenges, and scoring systems.
In this hands-on workshop, students will plan, build, and refine a fully functional pinball machine using a range of materials and mechanisms. They’ll experiment with angles, force, and motion to control how the ball moves, then add features like bumpers, ramps, and obstacles to make their game more exciting and challenging.
As they develop their designs, students will test and improve their machines, learning how small changes can affect performance, difficulty, and gameplay. They’ll also explore how to create a fair and engaging experience, balancing skill and chance to make their pinball machine fun to play.
This extended session is designed for older learners, allowing more time to build, experiment, and iterate on increasingly complex designs.
Learning Focus
Engineering and design
Plan and build a multi-feature pinball machine using simple materials and mechanical systems
Forces and motion
Explore how angles, friction, and force affect movement and gameplay
Problem solving and iteration
Test, refine, and improve designs through trial and error
Systems thinking
Understand how different components work together to create a complete game
Creativity and gameplay design
Design challenges, scoring ideas, and features to make the machine engaging and fun
By the end of the workshop, each participant takes home a working pinball machine and a deeper understanding of how real world mechanical systems are designed and refined.