This is a simple and fun activity to help visualize the warping of space by gravity. Stretch and fasten flexible fabric over the top of a bucket and encourage visitors to experiment with marbles and weights to discover some basics about gravity and black holes.

Possible topics: Discuss an what an Earth-mass black hole would behave like vs the regular planet Earth and discuss what exactly "center of mass" means. You can also orbit marbles around a black hole!

Uploaded: October 2008