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Making a spaghetti tower is a great team-building exercise that is popular among schoolchildren, coworkers, friends, and family. You can also build a spaghetti tower alone for an extra challenge! Spaghetti towers are made using dry spaghetti strands and marshmallows. Make squares with the spaghetti and marshmallows first, before forming these into pyramids that will help strengthen the base. Use these existing pyramids to form new ones, and watch as your tower grows higher! To make building spaghetti towers into a fun, competitive game, try setting a time limit , seeing who can build the tallest tower, or limiting the supplies.
Steps
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Push 2 strands of dry spaghetti into 1 marshmallow. Line up the 2 spaghetti strands. Push them evenly into the top round side of the marshmallow.- Use full-size marshmallows rather than the miniature kind.
- Using 2 strands of spaghetti instead of just 1 will strengthen your tower and help it to eventually stand upright.
- Push the spaghetti far enough into the marshmallows so that it feels stable, but not far enough to come through the opposite side. Around halfway will do.
- Make sure to center the spaghetti. If you put too much weight on one side, the marshmallow will probably tip over.
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Make a right angle with 2 more strands of spaghetti. Line up 2 more spaghetti strands. Push them into another side of the same marshmallow to form a corner. [1] X Research source
- It might be tricky to push these next spaghetti strands into the same marshmallow. Do it carefully, and try to add the strands just next to where the first strands were pushed in.
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Add a marshmallow to each end of the spaghetti strands. Push a marshmallow firmly onto each end. Be careful when adding marshmallows to spaghetti that has already been connected, as it can easily break with too much pressure. [2] X Research source
- Replace any broken strands of spaghetti with new strands.
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Push 2 strands of spaghetti into each new marshmallow. Create 2 more right angles. Make sure that the strands are lined up well, and are as close to 90° as possible. This will ensure that your tower is sturdy. [3] X Research source
- Your square so far will look like a rigid “U” shape.
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Use 1 more marshmallow to connect the final ends of the spaghetti strands. Push the remaining strands of spaghetti into 1 last marshmallow. Do this as carefully as possible to avoid breaking the rest of the square. [4] X Research source
- You should now have a completed square shape made out of 4 marshmallows and 8 strands of spaghetti.
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Build as many more squares as you like. The greater the number of squares that you build, the higher that your tower will be. Your initial squares will become the base for your tower. [5] X Research source
- Start with 9 squares if you are not sure how many to begin with. This will give you good practice in creating a smaller tower.
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Place 2 strands of spaghetti into the top of each marshmallow. Each of the 4 marshmallows in each square needs 2 strands of spaghetti inserted into the top. Align these so that they point straight. [6] X Research source
- Each square will end up with 8 more spaghetti strands pointing upwards.
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Gather the strands of spaghetti and connect these with a marshmallow. Grasp the 8 strands of spaghetti that are pointing upwards. Hold them together tightly as you firmly push a marshmallow onto the end. [7] X Research source
- The marshmallow will connect the strands and hold them together in a point type shape.
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Make more pyramids using the rest of the squares that you made. Add the spaghetti strands to the tops of the marshmallows. Join these together into a point using a final marshmallow. [8] X Research source
- If you began with 9 squares, you will end up with 9 pyramids in total.
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Arrange the completed pyramids to create a base for your tower. Align the pyramids that you just made so that they look like a square or rectangle from above. If you have 9 pyramids, align these to be 3 pyramids across by 3 wide. [9] X Research source- Make sure that the base pyramids are close together to ensure that your tower is stable.
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Connect the central marshmallows at the top of the base with spaghetti. Push spaghetti strands horizontally to make more square shapes on the top of the base. Make sure that these are connected firmly, as they will become the base for the next layer. [10] X Research source
- Be very careful to avoid leaning or placing pressure on the base pyramids.
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Repeat the process of making pyramids. Insert spaghetti strands coming from the top of each of the marshmallows. Connect the strands from each square using a central marshmallow. [11] X Research source
- You will notice your tower beginning to narrow in as it gets taller.
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Continue building the tower until you reach 1 marshmallow point. Keep adding spaghetti strands horizontally and vertically to make square bases and points. Work as carefully as possible as you make your way up the tower to avoid breaking any pieces. [12] X Research source- The bigger your tower, the longer it will take to reach the top.
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See who can build the best tower in a limited amount of time. Have all of the supplies ready before you begin. Set the timer, and compare towers at the end! [13] X Research source
- Around 20 minutes is a good place to start for a competitive spaghetti tower match.
- You don’t have to compete with others. Try timing yourself, and see if you can build a better tower each time.
- You can judge the towers based on height or stability.
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Compete to see who builds the tallest tower. Get all of the supplies, and see which group can build the tallest tower before it collapses. You may need to start building the tower on the ground, and stand on a secure chair as it grows! [14] X Research source
- Have a measuring tape ready so that you can measure the end results.
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Limit the supplies that are available. Try using just 20 strands of spaghetti and 1 marshmallow for each tower. You will need to break the marshmallow into smaller pieces for this type of competition. [15] X Research source- With limited supplies, the design of the towers will need to vary. Get creative, and see how tall and stable you can make a tower with only 1 marshmallow.
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionWhat is a good substitute for marshmallows?Joseph Quinones is a Physics Teacher working at South Bronx Community Charter High School. Joseph specializes in astronomy and astrophysics and is interested in science education and science outreach, currently practicing ways to make physics accessible to more students with the goal of bringing more students of color into the STEM fields. He has experience working on Astrophysics research projects at the Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Joseph recieved his Bachelor's degree in Physics from Lehman College and his Masters in Physics Education from City College of New York (CCNY). He is also a member of a network called New York City Men Teach.Putty is actually better to use for spaghetti towers than marshmallows, since marshmallows are a bit squishy.
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QuestionWhat if the spaghetti snaps in half each time I try to stand it up?T. ChinsenTop AnswererSpaghetti is made from wheat flour. Depending on the source of the raw material, the spaghetti brand you use may not be as strong as a brand that is labeled as "al dente" when cooked. Al dente refers to its firmness after cooking. Generic pasta may not have the density to hold up to use for the article project.
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QuestionCould I use anything else besides spaghetti?Elizabeth BolsterCommunity AnswerYou can use other things such as toothpicks or dowels. You can use anything that is thin and straight.
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Tips
- Build your tower on a flat surface to help it stay upright.Thanks
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Warnings
- Don’t attempt to cook or burn the marshmallows to the spaghetti to try to strengthen your tower. It won’t work, and your tower will just end up burnt.Thanks
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Things You’ll Need
- Packets of dry spaghetti
- Packets of full-size marshmallows
- Timer
- Chairs
- Measuring tape
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about physics, check out our in-depth interview with Joseph Quinones .
References
- ↑ https://science.psu.edu/outreach/DIYScience/Spaghetti_Tower
- ↑ https://science.psu.edu/outreach/DIYScience/Spaghetti_Tower
- ↑ https://learning.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/resources/spaghetti-structures/
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/build-spaghetti-marshmallow-tower-4560473.html
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/build-spaghetti-marshmallow-tower-4560473.html
- ↑ https://learning.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/resources/spaghetti-structures/
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/build-spaghetti-marshmallow-tower-4560473.html
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/build-spaghetti-marshmallow-tower-4560473.html
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/build-spaghetti-marshmallow-tower-4560473.html
- ↑ https://www.rigb.org/sites/default/files/attachments/spaghettitowers_infosheet_0_1.pdf
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/build-spaghetti-marshmallow-tower-4560473.html
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/build-spaghetti-marshmallow-tower-4560473.html
- ↑ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/building-with-spaghetti/
- ↑ https://www.rigb.org/sites/default/files/attachments/spaghettitowers_infosheet_0_1.pdf
- ↑ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/building-with-spaghetti/
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