Spaghetti Tower STEM Workshop

October 30th, 2025

Our community outreach team organized a STEM workshop at Deerwood Elementary this past October. Our team of volunteers, composed of not only members of our project team but also other interested students at Georgia Tech, drove to Deerwood Elementary to introduce 5th graders to principles of civil engineering through a fun, hands-on activity. The students were separated into groups, and each group was given tape, string, and dry spaghetti noodles. The instructions they received were to use the given materials to create a structure out of spaghetti that was strong enough to hold the weight of a marshmallow. They had thirty minutes to do so, and the tallest structure that could hold the weight of a marshmallow would win. The students began with brainstorming and creating a plan for their structure, and then they dove into building. Our volunteers were there to facilitate and help if needed, but the students were able to try out any ideas that they wanted and let their creativity come through in the design and building process. The task proved more difficult than the groups had originally thought. At the end of the thirty minutes, the students were given time to reflect on their process and think about what worked and what didn’t. They had the chance to revise their process and rebuild. This iterative design process gave the elementary school students a look into real-world civil engineering processes that involve trying something out and always being willing to go back to the drawing board. We had a great time facilitating this activity for the students, and we can’t wait to go back for our next workshop!

One of our volunteers with the winning tower!