Marshmallow Molecules

It's pretty hard for 8th graders to visualize what molecules look like.  In an effort to alleviate some of that confusion, they got to build molecules out of marshmallows and toothpicks.  They weren't told HOW to do it but, instead, were encouraged to build them in a way that made sense to them.  I kept it pretty simple asking them to build some elements and compounds that required only 5 types of atoms (Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Methane, Ammonia, Butane and Glucose ).  A wide variety of structures began to appear.  Needless to say, the marshmallows were pretty beat up by the end of the day.