Marshmallow Shooter

By Howtoons

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Here’s how to make a pair of Marshmallow Shooters. You’ll be ready for combat in minutes!

They’re made of standard ½” PVC pipe and pipe fittings, which just happen to be a perfect fit for mini marshmallows from the grocery store.

Just fit the pieces together, bring a bag of mini marshmallow ammunition, and start blasting. They can shoot 40 feet or more with just a puff of air.

Everyone is delighted by the weird physics of the Marshmallow Shooter. You load the mini marshmallow at the mouthpiece, and then blow sharply. Surprisingly, the marshmallow follows the curves inside the shooter and finds its way out the end of the barrel, no matter how crazy a shooter you build!

December 18, 2012, 10:57 pm PST

Parts

Marshmallows, mini
PVC pipe fittings, 1/2", slip-fit: tees (4), elbows (4), and end caps (4)
PVC pipe, 1/2", 4" lengths (12) and 6" lengths (2) With PVC pipe and fittings, a nominal diameter of ½" refers to its internal diameter (ID). The pipe's outer diameter is closer to 7/8", and the fittings are sized to fit around this.
—Or Buy the Optional Kit—
Make: Marshmallow Shooter Kit (2-Pack) Contains all the parts listed below for making 2 shooters (except marshmallows!), plus a bit of sandpaper

Tools

PVC pipe cutter if you're cutting your own PVC. If you're using the Make: Marshmallow Shooter Kit (2-Pack) you don't need any tools at all.
Paper
Pencil
Ruler
Sandpaper
Vise if cutting your own PVC

Steps

Step #1: Make your marshmallow shooters.

NextPrev

Marshmallow Shooter Kit: Press-fit the parts together as shown in the assembly drawing — no tools or glue are needed. That’s it!
For comfort, you can sand the edges of the 4" pipe for the mouthpiece.
WARNING — CHOKING HAZARD. Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.

Conclusion

Clean up your marshmallows when you’re done. Especially, don’t leave any around roads: they’ll attract animals, which might then be hit by cars.

This project first appeared in MAKE Volume 02.

Howtoons

What happens when you take a comic book artist, an inventor, and a toy designer? You get Howtoons. Our mission is to provide engaging content that teaches kids how to build things, combining instructions with storytelling. Howtoons has a foundation of science and engineering education, inspiring creativity through art and imagination.

The primary contributors to Howtoons are Nick Dragotta(comic artist), Saul Griffith(inventor), Ingrid Dragotta(toy designer), and Joost Bonsen(the big kid).

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