2. Shopping and preparation
Ingredients:
Spaghetti, string, marshmallows, adhesive tape
You can use paper lunch bags or letter size envelops to
prepare the material if you have many participants. You
will also need scissors. Neither paper bags nor scissors
are allowed to be used for building!
Small prizes for the winning team
More instructions can be found here:
http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Instructions.html
Preparation:
Put the materials on every desk – 20 spaghetti, 1 marshmallow, 1 m string, 1 m tape, scissors.
Ensure you also have enough material for the second round
Put up the rules on flipchart or beamer so the participants can see them during the game
Prepare the debriefing
Get started:
Read about the game and watch the video: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/en//id/837
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3. 18 minutes versus 2x9 minutes
The traditional Marshmallow Challenge lasts 18
minutes. The approach presented here with the
division of the exercise into two working sessions has
the following advantages:
The participants have the opportunity to review
what they have achieved in the first turn and
learn for the second round
The first result serves as a reference
The iterative approach usually brings better
results in the second round (higher / more stable
towers)
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4. Practice (1)
Before the start:
Tell the participants that the game was played
by thousands of people worldwide before
Divide them into teams - 3-4 people are ideal
Explain the rules
DON’T tell them about the second round!
Give the participants time to go through the
rules and ensure that there are no more
questions!
Start the challenge, set the timer to 9 minutes
Build the tallest
freestanding
structure
The entire
marshmallow
must be on top
Use all
material you
need
Break
spaghetti, cut
string or tape
The challenge
lasts 9 minutes
The structure
will be measu-
red from here
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5. Practice (2)
Be there for questions
Remind the teams of the time remaining
Pay attention to fascinating words being spoken
and interesting things happening. Make notes!
Remind the teams of the rules, if needed
10, 9, 8 … 2, 1 – hands off!
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6. Practice (3)
“Tadaaa!” or “Oh-Oh!” ?
Some teams are successful, some are not
Give the participants time to look around
Start a 3 minutes lessons learned round – either
facilitated or free
End this session exactly after 3 minutes
Hand out new material – explain that every team
now has a second chance and may use the
lessons learned
Start the challenge, set the timer to 9 minutes
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7. Practice (4)
Debriefing
Measure the structures and identify the winning team
Give the participants time to look around and to discuss
the different approaches
Wrap up with some facts:
Kids do better than students
Managers spend a lot of time on discussing roles and
responsibilities
The marshmallow is a metaphor for the hidden
assumption
More information can be found here:
http://marshmallowchallenge.com/Instructions.html
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8. Reflexion
The end
Give the participants something to think about after
the game, e.g. some questions related to their role or
project.
The reflection can vary according to participants and
objectives.
Thank all!
What took
most of the
time?
What was my
role in the
team? How did I learn
that?
What did we
change in the
second round?
How much did
we work on the
problem?
How much did
we work on the
solution?
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