The Marshmallow Challenge
The Marshmallow Challenge is a great way to teach and experience collaboration. It is a fun and interactive exercise that encourages participants to work together, think creatively, and collaborate effectively. Here's how it works -
Materials You’ll Needed: 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard of string, 1 marshmallow
Divide participants into teams of 4-5 members. Explain the challenge: Each team has 18 minutes to build the tallest freestanding structure using the provided materials. The marshmallow must be placed on top, and the structure should be stable enough to support it.
Emphasize that the challenge requires collaboration, communication, and creative problem-solving.
Outline the rules: Teams can only use the provided materials (spaghetti, tape, string). The entire marshmallow must be visible on top of the structure. The structure must be freestanding, meaning it cannot be attached to any other surface.
Facilitate the Activity: Allow teams to plan their approach and discuss ideas for constructing the structure. Start the 18-minute timer and let the teams begin building. Observe the teams and encourage collaboration and communication throughout the activity. Remind teams to consider stability, balance, and the weight of the marshmallow as they construct their structures. At the end of the time limit, have each team present their structure to the group.
Debrief and Discuss: Facilitate a discussion by asking the following questions:
What strategies did teams use to collaborate effectively?
What challenges did teams encounter during the activity?
How did teams prioritize and allocate tasks within the time limit?
What lessons did you learn about collaboration from this activity?
How could you apply these lessons to real-life collaborative situations?
The Marshmallow Challenge provides a hands-on experience that highlights the importance of collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and adaptability. It encourages teams to work together, leverage diverse perspectives, and learn from both successes and failures. The debrief and discussion session allows participants to reflect on their collaborative dynamics and extract valuable insights that can be applied to real-life collaborative scenarios.