The Sweet Origin of Project Candyland
Every year, billions of dollars’ worth of candy are sold in the United States for holidays like Halloween, and while much of it is enjoyed, a lot of it ends up forgotten or wasted.
But for one little boy, a pile of unwanted Halloween treats sparked an idea far sweeter than any sugar rush.
He stood looking at a mountain of taffy, hard candies, and those little wax bottles (the kind of candy no one really wants to eat). He wasn't thinking about a tummy ache; he was thinking about play.
"What if," he wondered, "this wasn't food, but building material?"
He started small, using marshmallows as mortar and broken cookie wafers as foundation. Soon, he was experimenting: Could licorice serve as a supportive truss? Was a gumdrop dome more stable than a caramel cube? He quickly learned that physics, architecture, and basic engineering were the keys to a stable, delicious, beautiful structure.
That simple moment of turning otherwise forgotten treats into his own architectural challenge was the seed. It showed that a good way to learn about measurement, volume, mass, and stable structures wasn't from a textbook, but from a pile of treats.
And so, Project Candyland was born: a national competition that challenges students to use their most creative skills alongside math, science, and engineering to build something beautiful, brilliant, and completely edible.
It’s proof that sometimes, the best lessons are found in the things you might otherwise overlook.
Events
Our very first Project Candyland was held on January 11th, 2014 at the Engineering Building, University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), Huntsville, AL.
Photos below are examples of the range of items built by some of our youngest competitors.
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February 7, 2026 Chicago, Illinois
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.
Calling all Volunteers!
Project Candyland is made possible by volunteers taking time to invest in our future. Volunteers have typically been invited from professional engineering firms, university students, government entities like NASA and from similar backgrounds. We love our volunteer judges and couldn’t pull these events off without them.
Volunteers are invited to participate as judges or to help with various aspects of the event like organizing, fundraising, and on-site.
If you have been invited to volunteer, please provide responses to all the questions below.
Sign up to volunteer
Interested in working together on our upcoming event? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!