Maker Monday: Marshmallow peep boats

Marshmallow Peep season is here, and Kidsburgh is happy to share this creative STEM project from Maureen Frew, maker education specialist at Avonworth Primary Center.

Once you make these sailboats, there are plenty of STEM learning questions to ask: Do these homemade boats float or sink? Where is the center of mass? Do bunnies sail better than peeps? Kids can pay attention to things like wind movement, wind speed and sail placement to see the best way to sail their marshmallow boats. And they can compare notes about what they discovered.

You can do this Maker Monday project with items you likely have around the house or can pick up at a dollar store. A note to kid makers: Please work with a parent or caregiver on this Maker Monday project and always be very careful when using tools of any kind.

Maker Monday materials you’ll need:

• a package of marshmallow peeps (or bunnies)
• toothpicks
• tape
• a few kinds of paper (try things like construction paper, cardstock, tissue paper, or whatever you have available)
• a hair dryer
• pennies
• a bowl of water (large and wide is best)

Maker Monday instructions:

Step One: Cut out triangles of various paper materials and decorate them as you wish. These triangles will form the sails of your sailboats.

Step Two: Then tape a toothpick to a triangle and stick the opposite end of the toothpick into a marshmallow peep.

Step Three: Fill a bowl with water and begin your experiments. Use a hair dryer on low to create an artificial breeze. This will really put the sailboats into action.

As you experiment with this project, consider the placement of your paper sail: Where does the sail work best – placed in the middle, at one end, or at the other end of your, peep?

Challenge kids to try sails of different materials to see which one works best.

Another variation: Add a penny to your boat, and then see how many pennies a sailboat can hold. Do the boats stay afloat or sink? Does the extra ballast make them more stable or more wobbly? How does it affect their speed?

Older children can graph out their sailing experiments for easy comparison.

Want more at-home fun making beautiful things? Check out more Maker Monday projects right here.

Do you have an idea for a Maker Monday craft project? If so, please share it with Kidsburgh! Send your maker activities to info@kidsburgh.org.