Kindergarten/PreK Class : Summer Camp Week 5

Chemistry in Cooking

School Aged Classroom with Ms. Zoia and Ms. Camardese

This week we explored the chemistry behind many different types of cooking methods. We pickled cucumbers to make our own pickles. We learned about fermentation by making pizza dough and watching as the yeast made the dough rise. The children explored emulsion by making our own salad dressing and mixing oil and water on the light table. A big part of our week was learning about recipes and how they help us to know what ingredients we need, how much we need, and the steps on how to make it. We also explored many different chemical reaction by conducting a science experiment each day to see what the chemical reaction would be. The children were working with many different math and science concepts during the week.

Elephant Toothpaste: Chemical reaction between dish soap, hydrogen peroxide and yeast (mixed with warm water). As the yeast reacts with the water it produces the gas, carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide reactions with the the hydrogen and oxygen in the hydrogen peroxide and causes the dish soap to foam up. The children were introduced to the different states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.

Self inflating balloon: Chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda. During this experiment, we also used yeast and water (since we already knew yeast produces a gas) to see which would inflate the balloon faster. The children had to make predictions and use the scientific method. We found the baking soda and vinegar balloon inflated faster, but the yeast and water balloon stayed inflated for longer.

Emulsion

Making our own salad dressing using oil, vinegar, garlic

Mixing Oil and Water

We explored the mixing of oil and water in plastic bags.

Baking Soda and Vinegar

We mixed vinegar in with watercolor then the children used eye droppers to squeeze the mixture onto the baking soda. They noticed how their was a chemical reaction between the two. They described it as fizzling.

Slime: mixing glue and liquid starch

The starch and the glue react to make a sticky substance. At first the children were not sure it would mix (it looked very liquidy and wet) but with more kneading the slime turned out great. (Here is the recipe we used, but we did not include the water )

Pickling

The children made their own pickles by cutting up mini cucumbers, adding spices, then adding vinegar. They patiently waited for four days before they could taste them. They were delicious!