During the 200-minute STEAM programme, 3rd graders will develop creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, resilience, valuing people, curiosity, a sense of wonder and openness through 7 phases of building spaghetti and marshmallow pyramids. The activity develops these skills while students create models of pyramids and identify points, lines, and angles. Teams practice problem-solving, as well as evaluating others’ ideas and being open to them, by designing stable structures within strict quantitative constraints to avoid wasting resources. Through two tests of construction (prototyping, evaluation, and improvement), learners strengthen their resilience and flexibility by adjusting their designs in case of structures failing or breaking. The project concludes with a reflection where students compare their results and use geometric vocabulary to explain their team’s success.

Brief description of the STEAM program

The Spaghetti Marshmallow activity is designed to get learners working together to build and test their designs with an emphasis on radical collaboration and bias to action. This STEAM exercise is a great way to push students to build, test, and iterate. This activity also encourages critical thinking by asking students to synthesize what they learned quickly to create new designs. Students must also demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges or frustrations. 

Age group/ Grade	Student numbers	Duration	Number of stages	Subject(s)
3rd grade students (core activity); extensions for the 4th grades see in “Difficulty level tailoring notes”)	Whole class (max. 30 students)	180–200 minutes (plus optional extension time)	7 stages	design and technology, visual arts, mathematics – geometry, math language, and literacy