Sugar Cube Tower Math for Preschoolers

Today the blocks are taking a break and we’re building a sugar cube tower. Kids will be dazzled to build with sugar, and their jaws will absolutely hit the ground once they start adding colors to them, too.

Zoomed in photo of sugar cubes stacked in pyramid for a sugar cube tower.

Sugar cube tower math is the sweetest

When you think of math for preschoolers + building, you probably picture blocks.

Maybe you picture wooden blocks.

Perhaps you envision foam blocks.

But, sugar blocks?!

Oooh, friends, there’s a new kid in town for building that your kids are going to LOVE.

Related: Our GIANT 10-foot coloring banners are perfect for any art lover!

Child lines up sugar cubes for the perimeter of her sugar cube tower.

Sugar cube towers think outside the block

Kids (and adults!) can get bored practicing the same skill, the same way, with the same things, day after day. We can stimulate kids’ curiosity by providing unique opportunities to practice the skills.

It’s like cutting skills: cutting on paper is important for practicing scissor skills, but if you only cut on paper, it can get boring.

When kids get to build with sugar cubes, their excitement and learning will be through the roof.

⭐ There’s more math fun where this came from:

Two kids work together building a sugar cube tower and add liquid watercolors onto a pile of sugar cubes.

Materials

Friends Art Lab is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.

Sugar cubes
Water
Clear cups
Eye droppers or spoons
Coloring – ex: liquid watercolors, food coloring, or diluted paint
Large, shallow tray – regular and baking sheets are perfect for this

An arial view of two giant baking sheets with children adding colors to sugar cubes making a sugar cube tower. This math for preschoolers activity has kids around the perimeter of the table working together.

How to make a sugar cube tower

Open the boxes of sugar cubes and set them out with the entire top of the box torn off.
Fill clear cups with water and add a splash of coloring. To each cup of colored water, add an eye dropper or spoon.
Put out the large, shallow trays.
Build sugar cube towers!
During the building process or when the tower is complete, invite the kids to add on the coloring. As the coloring absorbs into the sugar cubes, they will slowly begin to dissolve and it’s hilarious chaos.

A close up of a child squirting purple liquid watercolors onto a sugar cube tower.

How do you make a sugar cube dissolve faster?

Observing the process of the sugar cube dissolving process is half of this activity’s fun.

First, it’s a solid cube, but then it dissolves and falls a little, only to end up in a flat puddle of wet sugar. Kids race to build their towers before they dissolve completely and it’s so fun to watch.

But, you also add more science to this by exploring how to make the cube melt even faster.

To conduct this experiment, provide the kids with cups of cold water and warm water and invite them to test out which makes the cube dissolve quicker.

A child uses two hands to get color to add to the sugar cubes and moves some cubes around. The sugar cube tower is beginning to dissolve and the tray is mixed with colors.

Are preschool math activities part of STEAM?

Yes!

STEAM is a juicy acronym used frequently in education and each letter represents a different part:

S – Science
T – Technology
E – Engineering
A – Art
M – Math

STEAM learning is when kids apply some (or all) of the above letters. Kids naturally explore STEAM learning without any adult intervention, but it’s still fun to set up extra STEAM activities for them to explore.

Sugar cube towers are a STEAM activity because the kids are engaged in

Science – observing the sugar cubes change from a solid to a liquid state
Engineering – building towers and focusing on construction
Art – designing the towers and adding the colors
Math – using spatial awareness to know where to put each cube

A child is squirting pink liquid watercolors onto a small, enclosed castle-like shape of sugar cubes build together.

Sugar cube towers makes math for preschoolers a total blast

The next time you’re looking for a fun building activity, think “outside of the block” and try this one! It’s a winner.

Frequently Asked Questions

What skills does building a sugar cube tower help develop?

Building a sugar cube tower strengthens fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, and early math concepts like counting, sorting, and spatial reasoning.

How do I make this activity more challenging for older preschoolers?

Encourage kids to build the tallest possible tower, create a symmetrical design, or introduce basic addition and subtraction by adding or removing cubes and counting the difference.

Is there a way to extend the learning after the activity?

Yes! Have kids draw a picture of their tower, write numbers to show how many cubes they used, or compare their structure’s height with everyday objects.