SES Volunteer's Association of Western Australia Incorporated

Team Building

Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower

Outline:

The objective of the Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower is to construct a tower, as high as possible, using only spaghetti and masking tape.

The marshmallow must be placed on the top of the tower. The tallest tower still standing unassisted wins.

This training resource is also available as a PDF.

View PDF

Resources:

Discussion Starter, Energiser, Icebreaker

People Required:
Participants: min=3 max=4

Timings:

Set-up: Up to 15 min
Running/De-brief: 15 min – 45 min
Pack-up: Up to 15 min

Pre-work

None

Hazards and Risks:

Specific Safety Notes: In addition to standard safety practices:

None

Key Learning Points:

Communication, Leadership, Motivation, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Time Management, Trust

Equipment and Layout:

Bring together 20 sticks of uncooked spaghetti, 1 roll of masking tape, 1 Metre of string, and 1 marshmallow for every team.

Instructions:

Using just these supplies, which team can build the tallest tower? There’s a catch: the marshmallow has to be at the very top of the spaghetti tower, and the whole structure has to stand on its own (that means no hands or other objects supporting it!) for five seconds.

Additional Notes:

None

Review and Conclusion:

You may want to ask a couple of teams that were successful, what was their secret?
Discuss challenges and things they would do differently next time.
The Marshmallow Challenge is an activity, often done to help business leaders realize the power and challenges of team problem solving. Thousands of groups have done the activity and there have been some interesting statistics that have come out of these studies.

Contact Us

Office Street Address: 91 Leake St Belmont 6104
SESVA Postal Address: PO Box 3218 BELMONT WA 6104
sesva.office@ses-wa.asn.au or sesva.secretary@ses-wa.asn.au

Webmaster – sesva.webmaster@ses-wa.asn.au

Website by Ian Hakanson

Information

SES Volunteers Association of Western Australia Incorporated acknowledges the funding from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services that support the operation of the Association.