Tower of Marshmallows (Genesis 11:1-9)

The original lesson said to use dominoes, but I found students tend to have a lot more fun creating towers as a small group (teams), with tiny marshmallows and toothpicks. (If you prefer the dominoes (or playing cards), check for the “Domino Towers” lesson in the Youth Ministry category.

Scripture

Genesis 11:1-9

Lesson

In this lesson, students will use marshmallows to understand their need to include God in their lives’ plans.

Materials needed

• 1-2 bags of mini-marshmallows
• A box of wooden toothpicks
• Bible (of course!)
• Table to do everything on

Preparation

• Open and place the bags of marshmallows and toothpicks on the table in front of the students
• Tell the students to team up in groups of 2 or 3

Activity

• Say: “We’re going to see how high you can build a marshmallow tower.”
• Rules:
  • You must work together to build a tower.
  • If the tower falls over, start over from the beginning.
  • When finished, you may eat them 😛

Allow students to continue trying to build a tower until it has fallen down several times. Then stop the building and reflect on their creations. (feel free to give the rest of the marshmallows in the bag to the team with the tallest tower).

ASK:

• What did you think? Was it tough to build the towers? Why or why not?
  • But you worked as a team. Why was it so difficult?
• Can you think of some times in our lives when something seems like a no-brainer, but for some reason, we can’t get it to work out right?

SAY: You may have had some success in building a tower, and you may even have built it higher than you thought possible. However, ultimately your efforts were a failure; sooner or later, the tower fell down, right?

Read Genesis 11:1-9

Similarly, we often attempt to live our lives our way, and ignore God.

• We think we know what is best for our own lives.
• We also want to be in control, right?
  • Well, this attitude may work for a while, but sooner or later, it will end in failure.
• If we want to succeed in the long run (and sometimes even in the short-run), we need God, and we need to include Him in our lives with all things.
  • He WANTS to be included in our lives, also – that’s part of having a relationship with God.

Read Deuteronomy 6:5 aloud: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

SAY: Now, if you’re willing to turn that area of your life over to God and live the life he wants you to live, I’d like you to place a portion of your tower in your hand, and personalize Deuteronomy 6:5 (“I choose to love the Lord my God with all my heart and all my soul and with all my strength.”)

Give students a few moments to do this, and then close the activity with a prayer of dedication on behalf of your students.

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