BRANSON, Mo. – If you were to go outside right now and look for a marble the chances of you finding one is a lot higher than usual.
On July 23, a large event will take place where competitors will solve clues, go to checkpoints and race to win a ‘treasure chest’ of marbles worth up to $45,000. However, for the general public, unique handmade marbles are being hidden all over the nation including in Branson and Springfield.
In fact, there are already marbles hidden out there today.
The marbles are not the standard ones you grew up with, but rather intricate paintings inside of a glass sphere.
Each marble varies in price from $15 up to $60,000. The sizes also vary from the diameter of a pea to a basketball.
“I’m well known for several types of marbles, but I am… world famous for my micro marbles. They’re some of the best in the world,” said Will Stuckenberg, founder of World’s Biggest Marble Hunt. He says artists have their own style.
The event is hosted by the World’s Biggest Marble Hunt, a social media page where artists, collectors and people hunt and hide marbles throughout the world.
Although their members are located from all over the world, World’s Biggest Marble Hunt’s roots come from the Branson area.
“It was kind of just something to get out and do; have fun with my kids in the beginning and then we started getting a lot of people and I saw the potential to help artists and to make people aware of glass art,” said Will Stuckenberg.
After the first few hunts, more people joined in collecting, hiding, and creating marbles year after year. Stuckenberg said he remembers hiding a marble in a tricky spot in a park where eventually a father and son team found it. He said the father became hooked and has since then been hiding marbles year after year.
This is the 6th anniversary of World’s Biggest Marble Hunt.
Earlier this year National Geographic wrote an article bringing art marbles back into the public spotlight.
To join in on the hunt or if you find a marble go to World’s Biggest Marble Hunt.
Currently, the ‘treasure chest’ with $45,000 worth of marbles is being displayed at the Clark Historical Museum in Eureka, California.
