See how Stephan van Lumig designed and built Marblelous, a modular, ever-expandable marble track that will soon be available on Kickstarter.

Stephan van Lumig is the founder and creator of Marblelous, a smart, modular, interactive marble track-building kit for kids and adults that is WiFi-enabled/smart home connected, sustainably designed, and STEM.org certified.

Stephan is an entrepreneur through and through. Before the pandemic, he owned a custom high-end Hi-Fi/home theater business where he helped clients design/build their dream home theaters. Stephen also had an escape room business, where he designed the puzzles and the rooms.

In 2020, he was forced to close his two businesses due to the pandemic. As he was in one of his escape rooms getting ready to close up shop, he came up with the idea to create a modular, ever-expandable marble track that is connected, controlled from anywhere, and fun to build for everyone.

Sustainability is top of mind

Part of what makes Marblelous unique is how it incorporates existing products that are easily assessable as part of its build. Paper straws are used as marble tracks, making them easily replaceable without creating any plastic waste. One of their connectors also integrates well with LEGO parts, making it easier for users to expand their Marblelous tracks with existing LEGO pieces they already own.

STEM Driven

You can really start to see how great Marblelous is as a teaching tool for kids in STEM. Not only does it provide them with a fun learning experience through creative problem-solving, but it also encourages them to collaborate and engage in more project-based learning. Already ben STEM.org certified, Stephan told me that many schools around his area have already approached him, wanting to incorporate Marblelous as part of their school curriculum.

A Fusion user at heart

Like many of you, Stephan is a self-taught Fusion user and credits watching every single @Lars Christensen YouTube video as key to his success learning the tool. He used Fusion to create just about everything related to Marblelous. From the mechanical design aspect of connectors, track fittings and the 6 “Smart Tricks” to drawing PCB schematics and board layouts, generating rendered visuals for marketing, and creating 50 injection molds for all the Marblelous parts. What he loves about Fusion is that it had everything he needed to bring Marblelous from idea to reality, all in a single package.

“I can think of an idea in the morning, and then in the evening, I have it. I can design it, 3D print it, design the PCB, make the PCB, everything is here in my workshop at home.”

Marblelous is about to launch its Kickstarter campaign, and Stephan is currently looking for ways to raise awareness. The product has a lot going for it. It’s a great teaching tool, sustainably designed, and is just plain good fun for the whole family. Marblelous is showing us a better way of how we can spend more time with our kids. It might just be the solution many families seek to break away from screens and create meaningful memories together. I know that as a new dad raising a daughter in an age where cutting down screen time is such a struggle, this spoke to me.