Oh no! Santa’s sleigh malfunctioned and crashed somewhere miles away from the North Pole. Santa needs a shelter for the night while he waits for the elves to come and rescue him. Can you help build Santa an igloo?
This fun STEM challenge uses our favorite engineering building supplies, marshmallows and toothpicks, to construct an igloo. Usually, we stick with the mini marshmallows but because of the size of the igloo, we used the regular marshmallows instead.
Build an Igloo Challenge
Materials:
- Regular marshmallows
- Toothpicks
- Timer
- Free Build an Igloo Challenge worksheets
Instructions:
1. Give your kids a bag of regular marshmallows and toothpicks. They cannot use any other materials to build the igloo.
2. Set a time limit for your kids to design and build their igloo. I recommend around 5-10 minutes for planning and 20-30 minutes for construction.
3. Start the challenge! Since this challenge requires the structure to have a dome shape like an igloo (as much as possible anyhow), it may be difficult for younger kids. I suggest that you carefully monitor their progress to make sure they are on the right track.
4. After the time is up test to make sure the igloo is sturdy enough to shelter Santa. You can gently push the igloo to see if it collapses.
As LEGO fans, we do have a LEGO Santa in our collection. So of course we have to place the Santa in the igloo to see if he can actually sleep there for the night! It looks like the marshmallow igloo would make for a wonderful shelter in the North Pole.
If you haven’t yet, you can grab the free Build an Igloo Challenge worksheets by filling out the form below. They will help your kids design their igloo and reflect on their structure afterward.
Now that we are sure Santa is nice and safe, our job is done here. Hopefully, Santa will remember this beautiful igloo we built for him and make a note so we get on his nice list!
Merry Christmas!
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