Marshmallow Challenge

Teams build the tallest freestanding tower they can from spaghetti, tape and string in eighteen minutes, with a marshmallow balanced on top.

Time: 25 to 35 minutes
People: 4 to 40
Where: In person
You need: 20 sticks of dry spaghetti per team, 1 yard of masking tape per team, 1 yard of string per team, 1 marshmallow per team, scissors, tape measure

How to play

Form teams of three to five and give each a kit of 20 spaghetti sticks, a yard of tape, a yard of string and one marshmallow.
Explain the goal: the tallest structure that stands on its own, measured from the table to the top of the marshmallow.
State the rules: the whole marshmallow must sit on top, the tower cannot be hung from above, and supplies can be broken or cut.
Start an eighteen-minute timer and announce time checks at ten, five and one minute.
When time ends, everyone takes their hands off; a tower that topples after that scores zero.
Measure each standing tower and celebrate the tallest.
Debrief by asking when teams first put the marshmallow on top and what they would do differently.

The big lesson usually comes from testing early: teams that add the marshmallow late are often surprised by how heavy it is.
For anyone avoiding marshmallows for food reasons, a vegan marshmallow or a small ball of modeling clay works the same way.
Offer roles like builder, timekeeper or tester so everyone has a way to contribute, even from a chair.