Architectural STEM Activity #4 | 3D Toothpick Shapes

Create a 3D shapes such as cubes, prisms, & pyramids by connecting toothpicks (or straws) to common household snacks such as candy, marshmallows, berries, etc.

M AT E R I A L S

• Toothpicks or Straws • Common Household Snacks (Candy, Fruit, Marshmallows, etc.)

V O C A B U L A R Y

In geometry, a vertex (plural: vertices) is a corner point where line segments meet, & an edge is a line segment joining two vertices.

For this activity, each candy or snack represents a vertex & each toothpick represents an edge.

I N S T R U C T I O N S

Step 1: Connect your household snacks with each end of a toothpick to create the “beams” of your geometric shapes.

Step 2: Create the 3-dimensional geometric shapes shown below. Build using the “beams” created in Step 1.

The following images provide detailed templates for each type of 3-dimensional geometric shape.

C H A L L E N G E

How many 3-Dimensional Geometric Shapes can you build? Post a photo of your creations using the hashtag #BuildWithBreaux. Be sure to also identify the name of your elementary school. Each post using this hashtag will serve as an entry for your elementary school to win a 3D Printer.