How to Build Using Toothpicks

Building with toothpicks is a fun and easy way to keep kids occupied. When first building with toothpicks, a clever way to stimulate children's minds is to add a pile of marshmallows to the building activities. The structures are more rudimentary to build and can easily become huge without extraordinary skill or effort. And they're fun to eat! Start the kids building toothpick ladders and then have them build a pyramid or giant prism. And enjoy the toothpick building process yourself . . . it could stir the architect in you!

Things You'll Need

• Round toothpicks
• Tiny marshmallows

Instructions

1. Take one toothpick and stick a mini marshmallow on either end.

2. Continue adding toothpick, marshmallow, toothpick until you have reached a length you're happy with.

3. Make another column of toothpicks the same length. Lay the two toothpicks next to each other, toothpick distance apart. Connect the two columns using a toothpick at each marshmallow joint. The end result is a toothpick ladder.

4. Make a triangle out of three toothpicks with three marshmallows at the joints.

5. Make the triangle into a freestanding prism by adding three more toothpicks, one to each marshmallow, and sticking the ends of these three together into one new marshmallow. Continue adding more toothpicks and marshmallows in this fashion, connecting the prisms to each other, and your geometric figure will grow as large as want it to be.