The Marshmallow Railroad Construction Challenge
Make your very own Family Face Pattern
June 1, 2017
The Legendary, Delicious Sandwich Robot
June 9, 2017Explore Engineering By Constructing a Railroad
Would you encourage your kids to become an engineer? or If you have dreams of an engineering career for your young kids. If so, this Engineering adventure game for your kids, go computational on your Engineering design process. It's the Marshmallow Railroad Construction Game!
How long?
30 minutes
What's the Learning Outcome?
Scientific Reasoning
Patttern Spotting
Bridge-building
What age is it for?
5-8 year olds
What You'll Need
- You and your kid
- Marshmallows
- Toothpicks
- Any toy train and tracks you have
How to Play
In this learning game, your children will construct a model Marshmallow Railroad Construction -- but they have to do so in a world of time and resource constraints. Your kids will have to develop some ingenuity, as they use only marshmallows and toothpicks to build a strong structure -- and do it all while a timer is ticking!
Step 1: The Challenge is Laid
Get your kid (or kids) gathered around the table. Set out the limited set of materials that they will be able to use: marshmallows, toothpicks, some toy trains, toy cars, etc.
Now tell them the basic challenge: They have to build a stable, functional railroad, using only these materials and nothing else!
Step 2: Oh, and one more thing
Wait -- there's a rule number 2: they have only 25 minutes to complete the construction. The clock is ticking, and when 25 minutes is up, you will test to see how stable and usable their railroad is.
Set them off, with one major clue: the marshmallows should connect the toothpicks together.
Step 3: Time is Ticking
Watch them go, as the timer ticks down...
You can encourage them to make a straight, low track -- or push them to be ambitious: Tunnels, Bridges, Curves, Double-Decker Tracks -- anything they want to push themselves towards. There is no right answer about what the ideal track should look like -- but it should be stable.
Remind them that when the time is up, their railroad construction must be standing unassisted. And bonus points if it can support toy trains and cars traveling over it!
Step 4: Inspection and Iteration
Timer's up! All hands down.
Now that construction is complete: time to test it.
Let the kids load the tracks -- especially any bridges or tunnels they've made -- with toy cars and trains. Does the construction hold? Does it perform as the engineers intended?
If there is any collapse or accident -- give your little engineers another round. Try to figure out what went wrong, and what different techniques they could use to make a stronger structure.
Encourage iteration, still with the same constraints, but learn from the mistakes to make a better railroad.
Bekir M.
PhD in Education
Originally from Turkey, then Pittsburgh, now California
I got my PhD in educating kids how to code, and how to think computationally so they can thrive in STEM. I have been researching how Offline Activities -- where kids aren't in front of a screen, but are playing in the real world -- can help kids get core concepts of coding.
Learning Outcome
This activity is an engineering -- and a design thinking -- project for kids. This activity teaches kids how to plan and create, using an iterative approach. It's about trying different methods to get to a solution, and doing so in a constrained environment. The activity should open possibilities for your kids to be innovative, explore different materials, problem-solve, and use fine motor skills, too.