Marshmallow Spaghetti Towers

Oct 26

The Marshmallow Spaghetti Towers building challenge is an exciting activity to introduce your child to building architecture, and explore design thinking through prototypes.

Difficulty Level: 2nd grade & up
Time: 18 minutes (build)

Supply List (per person):

20 sticks of dry spaghetti
one yard of string
one yard of tape
one marshmallow
paper + pencil for planning & drawing

The goal of the Marshmallow Pasta Tower Challenge is to build the tallest structure using only the supplies listed above, within a limited timeframe. The whole structure must stand on it’s own - with no other objects or hands supporting it, AND the marshmallow must sit on top of the structure.

Instructions

Each person or team has only 18 minutes to complete this challenge but can use all of the supplies (minus the paper and pencil) to build their tower. They may break the spaghetti, cut the tape (and hint, even pull apart the marshmallow). As long as the marshmallow is at the top of the tower, it counts!

watch TEDTalk | Build a Tower, Build a Team by Tom Wujec

For older students, check out this TEDTalk to learn more about team building.

Science Questions to ASk:

How can you make a building stand on its own? And, what would that structure look like?
(for when the towers tumble) what went wrong? How strong was the foundation of the tower? Was the tower to heavy or unbalanced?