STEAM -- Snap n' Shoot Marshmallow Soccer Game

Kid-built in a few hours . . . this goalie, net and goal, and cool marshmallow “snapper” is a complete kid-built soccer game. We don’t have to use our imagination here! Our snapper really shoots the marshmallow ball, and our goalies really defend.

Use this building project as a challenging independent study for upper elementary, as a whole-class engineering project, or use it to make math and science applications like percentages, measurements and geometry, action/reaction, trajectory, etc.

I use Snap n’ Shoot Soccer for 3rd-5th grade GATE engineering groups, and we use our game to think critically about data, fractions, and percentages as they are related to sports. These groups are specific to gifted and talented students identified for nonverbal ability. Aside from my “regular” GATE pull-outs during the week which are cross-curricular, the nonverbal kids come back for an engineering session to end the week on Fridays. Here we measure, design, build, interpret blue prints, draft, and invent.

We try to keep the cost low, and so I have included a virtually cost-free alternative. If you want the full building experience, it will help to have a small craft saw and square dowels—plus a few other craft items detailed in the lesson. I estimate the cost to be about $2.00 per kid for the full version—next to nothing for the alternatives.

Included in this unit are all the plans you’ll need to make the project, sample pictures and step-by-step pictures, a data sheet for students, and discussions questions to help your students dig deeper into mathematics.