Object Lesson - Marshmallow Olympics

Object Lesson
-
Marshmallow
Olympics
www.CreativeYouthIdeas.com
www.creativeobjectlessons.com

Use marshmallows as an object
lesson and tie it in to a well
known Harvard study on delayed
gratification and success. Waiting
on God is a Biblical concept and
something all youth need to learn.
Patience in relationships, in
sexuality, in simply growing up

Make Marshmallow shooters
What You Need
• 9 oz plastic cups
• 12 inch balloons
• LOTS OF marshmallows
• scissors
• Duct Tape

Preparation
1. Place two plastic cups
together, one inside of the
other, and then use a piece of
duct tape around the top
opening to secure them
together and fold over the
edge. Cut off the bottom one
third so that both ends are
now open. You might want to
use the tape to also fold over
the bottom end and secure the
cups together. (You can also
use empty yogurt containers
instead of plastic cups)

2. Tie off one uninflated
balloon and cut off a strip
from the opposite end.
3. Stretch the balloon over
the bigger end of the cup.
4. Place a marshmallow inside
the cup on the knotted
center, pull back on the
outer knot, and the
marshmallow flies out of
the end in the direction
you aim it.

Caution – Do this outdoors or in
an uncluttered room where it is
easy to locate all the
marshmallows otherwise they can
attract unwanted crawly critters.

What to do
With the marshmallow launcher you
can:
• See who can launch a
marshmallow the farthest
• Try to launch them into the
mouth of a teammate across the
room
• Play target practice with a stack
of marshmallows
• Launch a marshmallow up in the
air while a teammate runs
around and tries to catch it in a
bucket
• launch marshmallows into a
trash can or bonfire.
• Play a game of dodgeball with
marshmallow launchers

Other marshmallow games
Long-Distance Marshmallow Toss –
Youth face a partner and then toss
a marshmallow to the partner. With
every successful catch they both
take a step backwards and try
again. If dropped the pair is
removed. Continue until one pair
survives the toss for the longest
distance.
MarshmallowShotput – Who can
toss a marshmallow the longest
distance.

Marshmallow Juggle – See which
youth can successfully juggle the
most marshmallows
Marshmallow Lick – Each youth on
a team licks a marshmallow, sticks
it to their forehead, and run to the
finish line and back, to tag the next
person until everyone on the team
has done it. If the marshmallow
falls they must stop, lick it and stick
it back on, before continuing.
Marshmallow Mind Meld – Put a
marshmallow between two
people’s foreheads and race to the
finish line.

Marshmallow Porcupines – Each
youth holds a toothpick in their
teeth and they must stab a
marshmallow with the toothpick
and pass it down the row of youth
leaving the toothpicks stuck in the
marshmallow as it moves to the
end of the line. First team to pass
the marshmallow to the end wins.
No hands allowed. Alternatively the
marshmallow with the most
toothpicks in it at the end wins.

Marshmallow Pyramid – Build the
highest pyramid of marshmallows.
Make it tougher by having them
build it on a teen’s forehead. Who
can balance the most
marshmallows on nose?
Marshmallow Vacuum – Using
straws teams of youth must suck up
the most marshmallows and place
them in cups. No hands allowed.

Marshmallow Walk – Youth
balance a marshmallow on top of
their head, tongue or nose, as they
walk to a finish line and back. (If
tongue have some replacements
available in case they drop)
Tallest Marshmallow Tower –
Marshmallows must be stacked one
on top of the other – straight up
without it falling over. Each
marshmallow may rest on only one
marshmallow below it.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
More than fifty years ago,
researchers at Stanford University
conducted a study on preschoolers
commonly known as the
“Marshmallow test.” They were
taken into a room and given a
marshmallow and told that if they
could wait 15 minutes, they would
get a second marshmallow. If they
ate the marshmallow, they would
not get the second one. They then
left the child alone in the room
with a marshmallow and a hidden
camera and waited.

Only about 1/3 were willing to
wait. In the following years they
checked up on the kids as the
became adults and progressed
in life. Those that were able to
wait, that were able to “delay
gratification” were on a whole
also able to be much more
successful in life.
There are quite a few repeats of
the experiment on youtube.
Here is one of them:
Marshmallow test on Youtube

There were three types of kids in
the study:
• Those who waited patiently –
delayed gratification
• Those who ate it either
immediately or after some time
• Those who tried to get as close
to eating it as possible without
really taking an actual bite?
(Licked it, nibbled on it,
hollowed it out and hoped no
one noticed)

In the Harvard studies, kids
who waited:
• had higher SAT scores
• got more education
• less likely to be
overweight.

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL
Name some examples of people in
the Bible who needed to wait on
God to fulfill something he
promised to them? (Hebrews 11:1-
40) – Take note of the last
sentence.
(There are many, many Bible
characters who had to wait many
years for something that God had
promised – Abraham, Moses,
Joseph in captivity, the Israelites in
the desert, etc.)

Spiritual Truths
• Waiting on God isn’t easy, but it
is worth it!
• God’s answer will come in His
perfect timing.
• God’s answer may not be what
you were hoping for.
• God’s answers and timing are
always better.
• Waiting, patience, and
perseverance are one of the
keys to life.
• Remember that when God ask
you to wait, something better is
coming.

MAKE IT PRACTICAL
• Have the youth make a list of
challenges that today’s teens
face that require them to wait.
What are the struggles, the
difficulties, the tests that force
teens to wait?
After youth have listed their
challenges on a large sheet of
paper, ask:
• What makes waiting for these
things challenging?
• What makes it easier to wait?

• How does experience with
God change the way a
person waits for things?
• How could your relationship
with God help you handle
the times when you need to
wait on him?
• Ask volunteers among the
youth to share personal
testimonies of how they
have benefitted from waiting
on God for something?

MAKE IT PERSONAL
• Have youth write down
something they have been
waiting for God to answer
and continue to trust him
for it looking ahead.

SCRIPTURES
Hebrews 11:39-40 “These were all
commended for their faith, yet
none of them received what had
been promised, since God had
planned something better for us so
that only together with us would
they be made perfect.”
Isaiah 40:30-31 “Even the youths
shall faint and be weary, And the
young men shall utterly fall, But
those who wait on the LORD Shall
renew their strength; They shall
mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”

Psalm 40:1-2 “I waited
patiently for the LORD; He
turned to me and heard my
cry. He lifted me out of the
slimy pit, out of the mud and
mire; He set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to
stand.”
James 5:11 “As you know, we
consider blessed those who
have persevered. You have
heard of Job’s perseverance
and have seen what the Lord
finally brought about. The
Lord is full of compassion and
mercy.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the
LORD with all your heart and
lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will
make your paths straight.”
Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the
LORD; be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you
need to know when planning your very own
object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed
object lesson ideas and another 200 object
lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms
and Names / Descriptions of God.
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Object Lesson - Marshmallow Olympics

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