A huge thank you for the fantastic comments on my kitchen chemistry post yesterday – I see many fun experiments in our future!
Thinking about science reminded me of using toothpicks and marshmallows to build molecular models, buildings, and bridges as a child. So I pulled some out for the kids.
Johnny mainly ate them (I had to remove the bag after his third or fourth marshmallow), but Emma had a great time playing. She even (unwittingly) built a beautiful H2O model:
Her final masterpiece? This monster:
He is still being admired, three days later.
I generally recommend using mini marshmallows for this type of activity, but we didn’t have any in the house – and the jumbo marshmallow made a lovely monster body. But check out this post from The Living Classroom for examples of some of the cool things you can make with mini marshmallows if you have slightly older children!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
ummm this didnt even give me the information i needed.Alyhough that is a cute baby lol:P.
This is such a great idea! I am admiring Emma’s monster too. :)
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Toothpicks and marshmallows make great tools to experiment with and build structures. What fun.
Any kind of edible structures would be a hit in our house.
.-= Elise´s last blog ..Tot School =-.
That’s the tastiest molecular model I’ve ever seen. :)
Looks like fun, and I think my older two would have the same reactions as yours (Nikki creating, Michael eating)!
.-= Elisa | blissfulE´s last blog ..Nikki’s first swimming lesson =-.
We did this before with mini-marshmallows, but I love how the jumbo ones look even better!!
.-= Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun Blog´s last blog ..Spring is Here! (Sort of…) =-.
this is a great idea. lovely monster
This is fun! Her “monster” is cute.
I am off to check out The Living Classroom for the older kids “stuff”. Thanks for the link!
.-= susana´s last blog ..Jesse–19 Weeks Old =-.
My kids would love this, but they would totally stuff themselves with marshmallows!!
How cool! Love it!!! I can only hope my daughter does the same as yours, and trains herself in a week or two (3rd bday is coming up!) Too funny, I think we have that dress, too! Too cute!
.-= Andrea´s last blog ..Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop =-.
How fun! I know Abby would be eating them!
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I was contemplating this for a while, but I am thinking of making it with playdoh. Somehow I am convinced that there will be no building with marshmallows, only snacking :)
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..The School Corner – January 29, 2010 =-.
fun! Are those the chocolate marshmallows? We just got a bag… yum!
.-= Beth´s last blog ..rock star finish!!!!! =-.
First of all, love Emma’s weather inappropriate outfit! :) Secondly, Brendan is a chemist and I know he can’t wait to do things like this with Ingrid! I’ll have to show him this post.
.-= Amber Liddle´s last blog ..Cupcakes, Berets, and Mei Tais =-.
I like this activity. You can also use gumdrops! I did gumdrops and toothpicks with a fourth grade class one time to review 3-d objects :)
.-= Keeling´s last blog ..Peanut Butter Playdough =-.
We are so going to try this! What is the eating / building ratio?
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The eating/building ratio all depends on the kid – for Johnny he ate three or four marshmallows and only stuck toothpicks in one or two of them. Emma ate one, maybe two marshmallows and played with five or six. She would have built with more, but I took them away because Johnny was eating so many. I think Johnny’s behavior is more typical of young children. =)