Marble painting for kids is an easy and fun action art activity! Kids have fun rolling paint-covered marbles on paper and the results are lovely abstract works of art.
Updated February 2025
Marble painting is one of our favorite kids’ art activities!
We’ve done it on our own as well as for playdates and larger toddler art groups. We’ve created individual-sized marble paintings and larger group marble paintings.
It’s not painting marbles, but rather painting with marbles.
Here’s a video of marble painting in action. And be sure to keep scrolling for step by step instructions.
Marble painting for kids fits all of our criteria for a winning art activity:
- The process is fun and open-ended
- It’s easy to do
- It’s the kind of activity that the kids want to do over and over again
- Plus, the end result looks pretty great – a wonderfully abstract piece of art!
Marble Painting for Kids
MATERIALS
- Marbles
- Tempera paint (but acrylic or Biocolors will work, too)
- Muffin tin, egg carton, or small bowls to hold the paint
- Spoons
- Paper
- Shallow cardboard box or a baking dish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare your materials
First, prepare for marble painting by putting some paint in the muffin tin sections (or egg carton or small bowls). Protect your work surface with art mats or a tablecloth.
Then place a sheet of paper in your shallow box or baking dish and set out the marbles and spoons.
- Put your marbles in the paint
Next, drop your marbles in the paint and mix them around a bit to coat them fully.
- Add paint-covered marbles to the paper
Transfer your paint-covered marbles to the paper in the shallow box/dish.
- Roll your marbles around
Now lift your shallow box and tilt it this way and that so the paint-covered marbles roll around and leave their little paint-y trails, creating interesting designs on the paper.
You can roll the paint covered marbles around the paper as little or as much as you like, depending on how you want your painting to look and how much you are enjoying the process.
If desired, you can add additional paint covered marbles and continue working on the artwork. Or start fresh with a new piece of paper!
Have you tried marble painting with your kids yet? If so, perhaps it’s time to give it another go.
More Painting Ideas for Kids
- 7 Fun Painting Ideas for Kids to Try
- How to Do Spin Painting with a Salad Spinner
- 11 Amazing Process Art Painting Activities for Preschoolers
- Splat Painting: Easy and Fun Action Art for Children
- Make Rainbows with Scraper Art for Kids
- The Best Paints for Kids
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