Procedure # 1 - Marshmellow Tower

Supplies (per team):

10 oz. bag of miniature marshmellows

1 lb box of spaghetti (uncooked)

1 box of paper clips or other lightweight item

ruler or tape measure

paper for drawing designs

Procedure:

Working in teams and using only the marshmellows and spaghetti, construct a tower that will support a box of paper clips.

Discussion:

Invite students to talk about the ideas they thought of and the process they thought of while designing and building the tower.

Optional:

Give each team a budget of $10,000. Affix a monetary value to the materials needed: $100 per piece of spaghetti, $75 per marshmellow. Challenge the students to build their towers within the fixed budget.