Marshmallow Challenge

Twenty sticks of spaghetti, tape, string, one marshmallow — build the tallest freestanding tower.

Time:

20–25 min

Group:

8–30 people

Materials:

Dry spaghetti, Masking tape, String, Marshmallows

• 15 min+
• Small group (2–8)
• Team building
• Teens

How to play

1. Split into teams of four. Give each team twenty sticks of spaghetti, a metre of tape, a metre of string, and one marshmallow.
2. The tower has to stand on its own with the whole marshmallow on top.
3. Eighteen minutes on the clock. Call the time out loud as it runs down.
4. Measure from the table to the bottom of the marshmallow. Anything that has collapsed scores zero.
5. Debrief: most teams build the structure first and add the marshmallow last, which is why so many collapse in the final seconds.

Variations

• Ban talking for the first three minutes to force planning by sketch.

More on this game: tomwujec.com ↗

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