Marshmallow Gun

Last year at Lake Powell, I was in charge of the "theme" which means I come up with the general flow of activities OTHER than the obvious ones generally available at Lake Powell. I decided to do "Superfriends" and held a couple of events that I feel were very successful in their purpose (amusement and diversion). But the one I shall speak of today, is the captured weapons shipment from the Legion of Doom, the marshmallow guns. They have multiple supreme qualities that make them perfect for large outdoor activities:

• For about $20, you can buy enough materials to make 10 weapons including ammunition.
• Each weapon kit (including ammunition) fits in a single 1 gallon ziploc bag
• The ammunition is biodegradable
• The "interest" factor, crosses multiple generations, encompassing everybody from 3 yrs old up to grandpa types
• Injury is all but impossible (licking the marshmallows prior to loading should be prohibited prior to beginning, though not injurious, it can hurt)
• After everyone tires of the game, they all have a cheap but very unlikely to be thrown away takeaway
• The weapon re-disassembles easily and fits back into the 1 gallon ziploc bag

The list goes on...

Range: 40 feet

So here's the instructions:

Materials required (per weapon): 2x 1/2" PVC "T" fittings, 2x 1/2" 90 degree PVC "elbow" fittings, 2x 1/2" PVC end cap, Approximately 36" 1/2" PVC pipe, if kitting is desired: 1x gal ziploc bag, 1x 1 quart ziploc bag, 1/4x bag of small marshmallows (1 bag will outfit 4 guns quite well).

Preparation: Cut the 1/2" pipe as shown into: 1x 12" long, 1x 6" long, 5x 3" long. You may be able to get someone to cut these for you at the hardware store where you buy the materials, if they aren't busy and you aren't making too many. But if you are going to be cutting them yourself, plan on having something handy to remove the burrs that any standard sawing method will produce. Sand paper works good for the outer diameter, an exact-o knife or smaller fingers than I have works good for the inner diameter. YOU MUST REMOVE THE BURRS, OR MARSHMALLOWS MAY GET CAUGHT UP INSIDE THE WEAPON, CAUSING IT TO MISFIRE AND GET ALL GUNKED UP! Test the assembly to make sure you have done it correctly, the pieces will simply press together according to the photo above. (Yes, the gun will function in a simplified state, in fact all you really need is one long straight pipe, however the geometry presented here does in fact act as a series of compression chambers, boosting exit velocity by nearly double, compared to just a straight tube.

Execution: Place all the pieces and the baggie of ammunition in the large bag, if this is intended to be a surprise activity, you may want to conceal each kit in another opaque container, such as a paper grocery bag. Include a copy of the assembly diagram. Give everybody a kit and say "GO". For advanced puzzle solvers and adults, you may shake it up a bit and omit the assembly diagram and see what you get...you can also choose to either tell them or not tell them what it is supposed to turn into, make it a race, see how long it takes for the first person to start shooting other people, then see how long it takes for everyone else to get the idea and reconfigure their PVC sculpture into a weapon as well.