How to Make a Easy Marshmallow Launcher
In today's post: Teach kids how to make their very own marshmallow catapults. It's a fun, easy craft project for kids that will get them thinking about scientific principles, all while launching marshmallows across the house.
The day I came up with this marshmallow catapult was one of those genius mom moments that are prompted by desperation. It was spring break (years ago) and everyone had had a little too much time together – you know how that goes, right? We were in desperate need of something fun to do that 1) didn't cost much and 2) wasn't too complicated. Inspiration hit and these simple kid-constructed marshmallow launchers were born. Keep reading for photo tutorial.
These marshmallow catapults are fun to make, and even more fun to use to launch small items (like mini marshmallows or cheerios) across the room.
Construction is simple enough that kids 5 and up should be able to put the catapults together by themselves, and even older kids, like my 13 year old, will enjoy trying to launch marshmallows at their siblings. We've made marshmallow catapults a number of times over the years and kids have always enjoyed them. It's a cheap, easy activity that works for most ages. The two kids in these photos started with a marshmallow war, but quickly progressed to trying to launch marshmallows into each other's mouth – they got pretty good at it!
Supplies
You only need a couple of supplies to make a marshmallow catapult:
- Four large marshmallows
- Seven bamboo/wood skewers
- One thin rubber band
- One plastic spoon
- Masking tape
You should be able to find all the supplies at a grocery store; Walmart carries everything you will need. One tip: plan to set the marshmallows out of the bag for at least an hour before constructing the catapults;stale marshmallows work much better than fresh ones!
How to make a marshmallow catapult (marshmallow launcher)
Kids can make these easy marshmallow catapults with just a couple of supplies and have a blast launching mini marshmallows across the room!
- 7 Wood/Bamboo Skewers
- 4 Large Marshmallows stale
- 1 Plastic Spoon
- 1 Rubber Band
- Masking Tape
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Using 3 marshmallows and 3 skewers, form a triangle.
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Use 3 more skewers and 1 more marshmallow to form a pyramid.
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Loop thin rubber band over topmost marshmallow.
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Tape plastic spoon securely onto the end of another skewer.
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Insert spoon skewer through rubber band and into one of the base marshmallows to complete the catapult.
When launching, be sure to hold the front marshmallow with one hand, and pulling back the spoon with the other hand.
Tips For Success
BE SURE to let the marshmallows get stale before you make the catapults. If you use fresh marshmallows, they will tear quite easily as the kids play with the catapults. If you remember, open the bag of marshmallows the night before you want to use them, but if not, leave the marshmallows out for about an hour before construction.
Have mini marshmallows or cheerios on hand to launch. You can also launch the larger size marshmallows; they just won't go quite as far. Try launching multiple small candies at once.
Extend the play time by creating targets on the table or the wall for kids to launch into. You can use masking tape to create targets, or even set out hula hoops or baskets.
Be aware that the skewers do have a pointy end which is sharp, so if you are making these with younger kids you might want to snip the point off with kitchen shears.
If you're looking for more kid fun, check out these posts:
50 indoor fun ideas for kids
101 summer fun ideas for kids
DIY hallway laser maze
Make a mini foldable book from one sheet of paper
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