Coffee Cups and Crayons

Simple play ideas, learning activities, kids crafts and party ideas, plus acts of kindness for kids!

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Kindness
  • Busy Bags
  • Science Experiments
  • Free Printables
  • SCIENCE CAMP
  • Shop
    • Cart

May 26, 2015

Marshmallow Shooters DIY Kids Craft

14812 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

This marshmallow shooter DIY is a childhood must do! It’s a simple kids activity that doubles as a science project and is so much fun you will end up playing with it even after the kids are asleep. True story.

This version of the marshmallow shooter is made with a cake pop container so the next time you have one at a party make sure to save it–you can turn it into hours of fun for your kiddos!

DIY Marshmallow Shooters! Such a fun craft for kids to make and play with!

(affiliate links included below)

This fun kids activity is inspired by one of our favorite new books Smart School House Craft for Kids! We are big fans of the author Kelly Dixon and I pre-ordered her book on Amazon way back in 2014 before it was even for sale. I knew my kids would love it and they do–my preschooler takes it to bed with her to “read” at night!

Crafts for Kids

Want to buy it too? Click here–> Smart School House Crafts for Kids

How to Make Marshmallow Shooters

How to Make Marshmallow Shooters

  • cake pop container
  • balloon
  • scissors
  • mini marshmallows
  • rubber bands (optional)

Take an un-inflated balloon  and tie a knot in the end. Then cut the bottom half (rounded part) of the balloon off. Stick the open end of the balloon on the bottom end of the cake pop container and you are ready to play!

If you have energetic shooters (like I do!) you may want to use a rubber band to reinforce the balloon. It will help it stay on no matter how hard they pull.

Marshmallow Shooter DIY

As soon as ours were ready my kids wanted to load them with as many mini marshmallows as possible! We found though that just shooting one marshmallows at a time made the marshmallow go farther.

Experiment with your kids to see how changing the amount of marshmallows or force used changes the outcome. It’s a great way to get kids thinking critically and having fun!

 Super Fun DIY Marshmallow Shooter Kids Can Make!

About Megan Sheakoski

Megan is the creator of Coffee Cups and Crayons, a blog full of simple fun and learning. She believes that kids’ activities don’t have to be complicated to be fun and that learning is better with play.

DIY Citrus Bath Paint Recipe
LEGO Paperweight Craft for Kids

Comments

  1. marlette lofland says

    May 27, 2015 at 7:13 pm

    what is a cake pop container ? Where do you get it from.

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      May 28, 2015 at 6:00 pm

      They are clear containers you can make those “push up” style cake pops in. They are in our craft stores like Michael’s and Joann’s. You could also use a sturdy plastic cup too I bet!

      Reply
      • Samantha says

        May 25, 2016 at 3:28 pm

        Hi, I bought some Wilton treat pop containers at Walmart, but they had a bottom in them, just a small hole for the stick to go through. Could you post a link to the product that you bought? Thanks in advance!

        Reply
        • Megan Sheakoski says

          May 28, 2016 at 1:58 pm

          Those are the ones I used! They will work. 🙂

          Reply
          • Sara says

            August 4, 2018 at 6:50 pm

            Toilet paper rolls work fine, they just need some tape to hold the balloon onto the roll. 🙂

          • Megan Sheakoski says

            August 9, 2018 at 9:40 am

            Great idea!

          • Crista says

            June 2, 2019 at 5:40 pm

            Did you cut the bottom off? Or does it work with just the stick hole?

          • Megan Sheakoski says

            June 3, 2019 at 3:47 pm

            Just the hole! Didn’t need to cut anything. 🙂

      • Tmom says

        September 10, 2018 at 11:56 am

        Dollar tree has the small red solo shot cups that would work 🙂

        Reply
        • Megan Sheakoski says

          September 11, 2018 at 10:25 am

          Genius idea!!!!! I’m actually going to grab some and save them for Christmas/Valentine’s Day/4th of July shooters!

          Reply
    • Allie 💙 says

      October 29, 2018 at 10:58 pm

      That’s what I was wondering.😕

      Reply
  2. Dganit Platt says

    June 12, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    Love the spy theme! This is certainly a safer alternative to playing with nerf guns. Also, such a clever use of balloons! I bet there were a lot of great photo opportunities while the kids were playing with these! Next time, save the memories with Keepy!

    Reply
  3. Todd Racine says

    June 15, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    Well, you were right, Megan. I did end up playing with them. 🙂

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      June 16, 2015 at 11:08 am

      Well at least it’s not just me!!!

      Reply
  4. Ashley says

    November 4, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    i bet you could use toilet paper tubes!

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      November 5, 2015 at 7:17 am

      Oh smart!!!!

      Reply
      • Sue says

        January 9, 2018 at 1:04 pm

        Unfortunately they don’t make TP tubes or plastic drinking cups as sturdy these days.
        My young grandchildren grasp the TP tube and it narrows too much for the marshmallow or puff ball to come out. I was also disappointed when the balloon caused large or small plastic cups to collapse! Shees

        Reply
        • Megan Sheakoski says

          August 10, 2018 at 10:11 am

          What about trying a sliced up pool noodle? You can get them at the Dollar Store!

          Reply
          • Ginger Tuttle says

            June 12, 2019 at 10:35 am

            Thanks Megan! I just bought a pool noodle for projects when the grandkids come to visit. That sounds like a great alternative!

          • Megan Sheakoski says

            June 12, 2019 at 3:45 pm

            Have so much fun!!!

  5. Shannon says

    November 13, 2015 at 10:53 am

    This is a great idea I’m a nanny so we used Pom-poms & she loved it less messy & sticky for toddlers

    Reply
  6. Catherine knewbow says

    November 29, 2015 at 10:02 am

    I teach kindergarten enrichment and would love to make these with my class. I am assuming that you need a tube shape, since both ends of the cylinder need to be open. Is that correct? I plan to try to shop around to see what is the cheapest option, especially since it looks like you only used the tube part of the cake pop holder.

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      November 29, 2015 at 1:03 pm

      Yep! You can even try a cut up pool noodle or a plastic cup with the end cut off if you want to make a large batch. They may not last as long since they aren’t as sturdy but they will totally work! 🙂

      Reply
    • Debi says

      August 9, 2018 at 7:46 pm

      Did you find a cheap option. I’m teaching an after school program. Need cheap since it comes out of my pocket

      Reply
      • Megan Sheakoski says

        August 10, 2018 at 10:13 am

        Hi Debi! People are having success with half a toilet paper roll, using duct tape to secure the balloon. Sliced up pool noodles from the Dollar Store also work. Just slice the thin one with a sharp knife–it’s time consuming but way cheaper and lasts longer!

        Reply
  7. Melanie says

    October 4, 2016 at 3:25 pm

    I made mine with a half of a toilet paper tube and used small pom poms since we will be making them inside at a Library function. They worked fabulously. I secured mine with a rubber band but I might let my kids glue the balloon to the tube for security. Great idea!!

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      October 4, 2016 at 7:51 pm

      That is so smart!!!! Very cost effective! Thanks for sharing!!!!!

      Reply
    • Denise says

      June 4, 2017 at 3:11 pm

      I sit for 2 kids and we made these with throwaway cups. We used ping pong balls. They worked great, too!

      Reply
      • Megan Sheakoski says

        June 4, 2017 at 3:25 pm

        Great idea!

        Reply
  8. Marcia Schaffer says

    February 9, 2017 at 2:59 pm

    Every summer at our library we read the book ‘The Marshmallow Incident’ and make our own shooters. We use plastic cups with the bottoms cut off and the sharp edges lined with fun duct tape. Then we square off across each other forming the towns of Left and Right and FIRE!! We do use Pom Poms now due to a very sticky, messy ‘marshmallow incident’ of our own. Very FUN!!

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      February 10, 2017 at 4:40 pm

      How fun!!!!!!!

      Reply
  9. Ramona says

    June 7, 2017 at 9:46 am

    Please tell me how do you shoot the marshmallows and from what end. I want to try

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      June 7, 2017 at 10:11 am

      Just put them inside the cup and pull the back on the end with the balloon and they pop out!

      Reply
  10. Dot C says

    December 28, 2017 at 4:49 pm

    I have made these with empty toilet paper rolls instead of cake pop & duct tape instead of rubber bans. Kids LOVE these!

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      January 2, 2018 at 3:10 pm

      YAY!!!!!!!!!! I love that! So easy!

      Reply
  11. Sasha Jamison says

    April 4, 2018 at 6:12 am

    Marshmallows will stick to the carpet and floor in your house so keep the battles outside. Since the weather is heating up. It’s best to make sure when buying marshmallows it must be fresh & non-sticky. Check the package of marshmallows to see if it isn’t sticky together, if so do not buy it or if you buy it, you can try putting the sticky marshmallows in a bowl of flour or powdered sugar to refresh to non-sticky. Therefore, lay the powdered sugar marshmallows on the wax paper to dry completely…. just saying. 😉

    Reply
  12. Jennifer says

    April 12, 2018 at 1:53 pm

    I had a lot of tennis ball containers and I did this with my residents at the nursing home when the preschool came to visit. Huge hit. Canons instead of little guns.

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      April 12, 2018 at 3:54 pm

      That is AWESOME!!!!!!!! That had to be a blast!

      Reply
  13. Christina says

    December 14, 2018 at 12:02 pm

    Found you on Pinterest, such a great idea! I am putting together “marshmallow shooter DIY” kits for my kids’ stockings, and I’m thinking about using small tomato paste cans with the sharp edges sanded off. They wouldn’t be as pretty, but very sturdy!

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      December 15, 2018 at 11:31 am

      Oh I bet that would be super sturdy!

      Reply
  14. Levi says

    December 16, 2019 at 10:21 pm

    Love this! Thanks for sharing Megan. We have a cool DIY lamp post you might enjoy. Let me know if you would like to collaborate on something. We took some good shots of the steps to build. 😀

    Reply
  15. Carolina Arey says

    December 15, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    Did you cut the bottom off? Or does it work with just the stick hole?

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      December 28, 2020 at 8:55 pm

      We didn’t have to cut the cake pop tube, but we did cut the balloon. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  16. Opal says

    December 8, 2022 at 8:21 pm

    Use the bigger pill bottles and cut the bottom off

    Reply
    • Megan Sheakoski says

      December 16, 2022 at 1:00 pm

      Great idea!!!!!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AWESOME IDEAS MADE EASY!

So you can have fun and still have time to finish your coffee!

Join over 10,000 parents who use our newsletter to connect with their kids through fun activities even when they're short on time.

Megan from Coffee Cups and Crayons

Looking for Something?

  • About
  • Copyright and Terms of Use
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Disclosures
  • My Account

Copyright © 2023 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs

14812 shares