Marshmallow Challenge
Spaghetti, tape and a marshmallow. Who will build the tallest tower? A warm-up that shows in under twenty minutes how a team plans, builds and learns from mistakes.
Why build a tower?
The Marshmallow Challenge is a warm-up in which teams use spaghetti, tape and string to build the tallest structure with a marshmallow on top. The task shows how much you gain by testing ideas in action from the very start, ahead of long planning. All it takes is a handful of simple materials and under twenty minutes!
Tom Wujec’s talk about the Marshmallow Challenge. Watch on TED →
- 1Form teamsEach group gets 20 sticks of spaghetti, a metre of masking tape, a metre of string and one marshmallow.
- 2Build a tower in 18 minutesThe marshmallow goes on top and the structure stands on its own. The tallest tower wins.
- 3Talk through the lessonsMeasure the towers and go through the three lessons below.
Three lessons for prototyping
Two hands are too few. The task teaches you to respond to others’ suggestions and choose the next step together. Tom Wujec called his talk “Build a tower, build a team”.
The marshmallow seems light until you have to hold it up. The team learns to reckon with costs, time and the needs of the audience.
Kindergarteners do better than business students, because they stick the spaghetti into the marshmallow right away. Adults plan for so long that they run out of time to refine the structure.
More sparks for ideas