Making Marshmallow Snowflakes is a great STEM project for kids of all ages. It’s a fun way to learn about snowflakes and practice fine motor skills for kids at any level.
What kid wouldn’t be eager to work on a STEM project that involves yummy marshmallows?! We have all this junk food left over from the holidays, and I thought of this fun project to put all our extra marshmallows to good use: making marshmallow snowflakes. Keep scrolling to learn how to make your own!
What parents love about Marshmallow Snowflakes
- It is a STEM Project. According to livescience.com, “STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.” The benefits of STEM are numerous. It fosters creativity and ingenuity, encourages teamwork and experimentation, and children learn how to problem solve. Learn more about STEM online at The Advocate. This is a great opportunity to talk about science and explain how snowflakes look and why they all have six points and the fact that no two snowflakes look exactly a like. Check out this youtube video to learn why! Technology uses techniques and skills to produce a specific result. In this case, our specific end result is creating a snowflake and helping our kids use techniques to get there. They will engineer their snowflakes by using materials to build and create something. And this project involves math, because there is the opportunity for lots of counting!
- It is adaptable. You can easily modify this project depending on the age and ability of your children. My four year old made a large and simple marshmallow snowflake using several large marshmallows and 3 long skewers. However, my seven year old has developed more ability to control her hands than her younger brother, so she created a much more complex snowflake using a complicated pattern and small toothpicks and many small marshmallows.
- It helps kids develop fine motor skills. This project requires coordination between your child’s fingers and hands and their eyes. Fine motor skills involve strengthening the small muscles of the body to improve control and dexterity. This is a great project to help them practice their skills.
What you will need to make marshmallow snowflakes
- Marshmallows. Both large and small marshmallows can be used for this project. We used a mixture of both for many of our snowflakes. Younger kids seem to have an easier time with large marshmallows, but either size work great!
- Toothpicks or skewers. I found that my younger child had an easier time using the larger bamboo skewers, plus they made for really large and really fun snowflakes. Toothpicks will be needed for the more complex snowflake designs though.
- Template. I created a guide to help my seven-year-old create her more complex snowflake. Here is my Marshmallow Snowflake Template.
How to make Marshmallow Snowflakes
- The basic version. My younger child had an easier time with long bamboo skewers and large marshmallows because he doesn’t quite have the same control of his hands as my older child does. On his own though, he was able to make his own snowflake (and eat it too, ha ha!). First, take a long skewer and stick it all the way through a large marshmallow. Move the marshmallow to the middle point on the skewer. Then, stick a second skewer into the same center marshmallow until both sides are even. Finally, grab a third skewer and do the same. Once you have a center marshmallow with six mostly even skewers sticking out of it, you can start adding marshmallows to the end. We started with one large one on each point, but eventually my son added a second large marshmallow and a small one too. Get creative!
- The complex version. This version of Marshmallow Snowflakes is ideal for older kids who already have more dexterity with their hands and who are able to more easily control their fingers to work with small items. First, print out our Marshmallow Snowflake Template and place small marshmallows on all the circles. Then, put toothpicks on all the straight lines. Finally, stick the pointy end of the toothpick into the marshmallows. Continue going around until the entire snowflake is connected.

How to Make Marshmallow Snowflakes
Making Marshmallow Snowflakes is a great STEM project for kids of all ages. It's a fun way to learn about snowflakes and practice fine motor skills for kids at any level.
Materials
- Large and small marshmallows
- Toothpicks or skewers
- Marshmallow Snowflake Template
Instructions
For the basic version, first, take a long skewer and stick it all the way through a large marshmallow. Move the marshmallow to the middle point on the skewer. Second, stick a second skewer into the same center marshmallow until both sides are even. Finally, grab a third skewer and do the same. Once you have a center marshmallow with six even skewers sticking out of it, you can start adding marshmallows to the ends. Get creative!
For the complex version, first print out the Marshmallow Snowflake Template and place small marshmallows on all the circles. Then, put toothpicks on all the straight lines. Finally, stick the pointy end of the toothpick into the marshmallows. Continue going around until the entire snowflake is connected.
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