Playing with food is a great way to learn! Here are some fun food science activities to do with a grandchild or other young person.

• Make Your Own Play Dough
• Change a Powder Into a Drink
• Shake Up Some Ice Cream
• Bake Up a Cake

1. Observe and discuss the properties of flour, salt and water individually (color, texture, etc.) Record these properties on paper.


2. Have the child mix 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Observe and state the properties of the mixture and record them on paper.


3. In another bowl with new ingredients, mix 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup salt. Observe, state and record the properties of the new mixture.


4. Compare the properties of the two mixture with each other and with their component ingredients.
   Background information: when flour is mixed with water, the resulting chemical gluten is movable, so it can form a big network that is gooey and stretchy. When the salt is added, the gluten molecules still form a network, but they are held together more stiffly because the sodium and cloride ions of salt hold the gluten molecules in more specific places.


5. Talk about this question: "Does the order of mixing make a difference?" See if you can design another experiment to find this out.


6. Optional: make dough ornaments. Poke a hole in one side or end for a string to hang the ornaments. Set the ornaments on wax paper to dry for at least 24 hours. Or you can dry them by baking them in an oven at 200 degrees F for 30 minutes. Then paint or decorate the ornaments with tempera paints, watercolors, glitter, etc.

Change a Powder Into a Drink
Explore how a powdered drink mix changes when it is dissolved in water.

What You Need:
- Powdered drink mix such as Kool-Aid. A dark colored drink powder will show the changes best.
- Water
- Small paper plates or pieces of waxed paper on which to place the drink powder for observation.
- Measuring spoons
- 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup measures
- Clear plastic drinking cups
- Spoons
- Napkins
- Paper and pencil for recording your observations

Estimated time: 15 minutes

What To Do:

1. Observe and discuss what the drink mix powder looks like. Note characteristics like color, particle size and whether there is more than one type of particle. Guess at what the ingredients in the drink mix might be.


2. Check the package directions to find out how much mix is needed to make one cup of drink. Have the child pour 1 cup of water into a plastic drinking cup and add the correct amount of mix without stirring.


3. Discuss and write down your observations as the mix is poured in. What happens to the colorless water as the powder is added? What happens to the powder? Does it sink or float? Does the color of the powder change?


4. Slowly mix the drink into the water with a spoon and observe what happens. Discuss and write down observations as the drink is stirred. Does the whole drink suddenly change to one color?


5. Try a sip of the the drink. Discuss and write down what the ingredients might be.


6. Read the package label to find out the actual ingredients and compare them with what you guessed they might be.

Shake Up Some Ice Cream
You don't need a fancy ice cream maker to make ice cream. Some plastic bags, newspaper, ice, rock salt, ingredients and a little high energy shaking will get you there!

What You Need:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup rock salt
- 3 or 4 cups crushed ice
- 1 gallon size zipper lock bag
- 1 quart size zipper lock bag
- 2 full sheets newspaper
- Masking or duct tape
- Plastic spoons
- Bowl for ice cream
- Optional: ice cream toppings
- Tape player and jazzy music tape to shake up the ice cream by
- Paper and pencil for recording your observations

1. Have the child measure out the milk, vanilla and sugar and place them in the small zipper lock bag. Squeeze the bag to push out as much air as possible, then seal it carefully.


2. Discuss and record on paper the mixture of ingredients at this point.


3. Observe and discuss the properties of the ice and rock salt. Place the ice and rock salt in the larger zipper bag, then place the small sealed bag into the larger bag. Again squeeze out the air and seal the large bag carefully.


4. Wrap the large bag in the sheets of newspaper like a package and secure the wrapping with tape.


5. Turn on some jazzy music and shake the package for 5 to 10 minutes. The ice/salt mixture will get very cold. The newspaper acts as an insulator, but make sure the child does not hold the outer bag with bare hands.


6. Open up the package and pull out the small bag which should now be frozen. Describe the ice cream mixture and the ice/rock salt mixture and record your observations.


7. Eat the ice cream directly from the bag, or spoon it into a bowl and add ice cream toppings, if desired.


8. Describe the ice cream and compare it with your observations of the mixture before the shaking/freezing process.

Bake a Cake Together
Baking involves a lot of science. You measure the ingredients, mix them in a certain way, and heat them at a particular temperature for a certain amount of time to get a product. This is the same process that chemists frequently use in their labs. Every ingredient has a special role in the final product. You add sugar to sweeten, baking powder to leaven, butter to provide richness, flour to give substance, eggs to bind the mixture, milk to moisten it, and vanilla to enhance the flavor. As you and your grandchild make a cake together, talk about the different ingredients and what they do for the cake. What might happen if one or more of the ingredients were left out? How about if the cake were baked at too high a temperature, or for too long? Here's a simple vanilla cake recipe that you can ice or keep plain:

What You Need:
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F, making sure that the baking rack is in the middle of the oven.


2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and eggs using a mixer on high speed.


3. Beat in the vanilla.


4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.


5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until combined.


6. Add 1/3 cup of milk to the creamed mixture and beat until combined.


7. Alternate adding the flour and milk to the bowl, then beating, until both are used up.


8. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Divide the batter between the two pans, and smooth the tops to level.


9. Bake the cakes for 25 to 30 minutes. Check for doneness after 25 minutes by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cakes. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cakes are done.


10. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes on a rack, and turn them out of the pans.

Science Across the Generations
These activities were developed as part of the OASIS Science Across the Generations program, which provides opportunities for volunteers who enjoy working with children. Find out more .