TED2010 Talk. Several years ago, here at TED, Peter Skillman introduced us to a design exercise called the Marshmallow Challenge.
Its goal was simple: in eighteen minutes, teams of four must build the tallest freestanding structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow has to be on top. Though the task seems simple, it's actually pretty hard. It forces people to collaborate quickly. The Marshmallow Challenge. Tom Wujec: Build a tower, build a team.