Day 3 of Genius Camp began with some deep discussion spurred by the TED Talks the students had selected to share with the studio. The conversations brought to light the diverse vantage points we have represented in the studio as well as how each topic discussed can be addressed in a variety of ways. We then moved onto the final round (for the week) of the Marshmallow Challenge. After having some time to discuss and plan out a strategy for constructing a spaghetti tower able to support a marshmallow at the top, the teams bolted to begin implementing their design-build strategies within the 18-minute time limit.

Here Team Blue Steel shows their sketches and plans for designing the tallest tower given the limited resources of 20 spaghetti sticks. They also put their project management skills to work to distribute the construction work between the three team members.

The planning and building coordination proved succesful as Team Blue Steel managed to build a strong spaghetti tower at a height of 45″!

Here is Team Cobra’s interesting use of tape for structural support.

The final height board shows it all. From the first iteration to this fourth iteration of the challenge, the students definitely learnt how to construct a more robust and taller structure AND managed to implement their design ideas successfully as a team!

In the afternoon, students had a chance to meet and chat with a few of the Fall studio coaches and ask them questions about fusion energy, space mining, and alternate sci-fi realities. Invited guests Edith Ackerman and Akra Aksamija also offered overall feedback on the studios.