We started Day 1 of the NuVu Genius Camp with the “Marshmallow Challenge,” where students quickly planned and built a structure made of spaghetti, tape and string, topped off by a bright (and weighty) marshmallow. Timed at 18-minutes each, the three building sessions gave students a chance to prototype and test out their ideas and also improve their methods with each go-around, with the hope of building a higher structure each round.

Here is Team VuNu securing their foundational spaghetti to the table.

Team Cobra tried out a unique two-footed spaghetti structure with tensile strings.

The moment of truth: Team Dynamite tests out their structure by topping their design with the marshmallow. After the first round, the students realized just how much weight the marshmallow casts on the structure and began to thicken their foundational spaghetti.

By the second 18-minute round, most teams were testing how to use the strings for tensile support. Here is Team VuNu building a post and tensile structure.

Here Team J Squared uses all that they have (including the tape dispenser) for their base structure support while tightening the strings to create more tension support all around the tower.

In round two, Sam’s Team reaches for a higher tower structure.

After many prototypes and iterations, in round three, Teams Arcteryx and Blue Steel attempt to build the tallest towers.

Here Team Cobra secures down their structure in the last 2 minutes of round three.

Success! Sam’s Team sits back in delight as their structure easily supports the marshmallow spire.

The final scoreboard showing three iterative rounds of the Marshmallow Challenge and successful tower heights from each of the teams.