Food for Thought Project
Food for Thought is a project funded by the National Science Foundation in collaboration with the Cincinnati Museum Center, LaSoupe, The Center for Getting Things Started, and COSI.
About the project
Families play a large role in igniting children's interest in science pathways, but they may not always have access to high-quality materials that demonstrate clear connections between science and their daily lives. This project will address this issue by developing high-interest materials that teach the science of food preparation to families with children ages 7-13. These materials include the following four components: (a) Food Labs, food-based investigations taking place in museums or in food service facilities; (b) take-home kits allowing families to conduct similar types of Food Labs at home; (c) a series of question starters called Promoting Interest and Engagement in Science (PIES) designed to facilitate meaningful family conversations around food preparation; and (d) a mobile app designed to deepen families' understandings of relevant science concepts and containing embedded measures of STEM learning. This project will advance knowledge regarding features of take-home materials that foster family science learning and ignite children's interest in science pathways.
informal science activities
We used an in-class cooking activity to teach 3rd-5th graders about setting up good scientific experiments.
Food science camps
Our Food Science camps in Cincinnati (OH), Hilo (HI), and Moloka'i (HI) helped school-aged children learn the basics of cooking and the science behind how food becomes delicious.
in home activities
Most informal STEM learning occurs in family homes. We created a Light Intervention that requires few materials, no costs to participants, and minimal time commitments from families. We added wh-questions to a recipe for popping popcorn on a stovetop. Families who discussed these questions produced more challenging family STEM talk than families who did not produce them.
Community engagement
Our cookbook is full of recipes for making healthy dishes that include activities for children and conversation starters for families.
Our STEM-inspired cookbook is available here.