Need help with food science project

[Anonymous]

my third grader and his friend would like to do a food science project for their science fair. We watched Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution together and ever since they are interested in what chemicals go into food and how science is used in food production. So we talked about maybe researching some of the weird/gross ingredients in food and show them with healthier alternatives..red dye v. beets as coloring for example, maybe compare how long proccessed food lasts without molding or changing its form-maybe compare that to a homemade alternative...and teaching them to read food PLU to compare coventional and organic food and GMO foods-take an organix tomatoe and compare it in terms of taste, appearance, cost...maybe touch upon enviornmental costs of both...anyway just ideas. I am looking for assistance in helping the boys fine tune their project in a way that they learn a few things about what's in our food..this isn't a massive project but I think it is a great learning opp for the kids. Any and all ideas would be welcome and appreciated. The kids will have a month to work on this, and present on a three board panel-they will have an outlet too. There is no prize, no award. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what what assistance you are seeking.

Science projects and science in general should start with the scientific method. What hypothetis do they have? how can they test that? etc.

But let the kids come up with the ideas, figure out how to test them, and test them, don't overcontrol this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what what assistance you are seeking.

Science projects and science in general should start with the scientific method. What hypothetis do they have? how can they test that? etc.

But let the kids come up with the ideas, figure out how to test them, and test them, don't overcontrol this.

I agree that for a 3rd grade science fair, the key thing is helping the kids figure out what they are interested in. You might be able to provide a little scientific insight along the way, but trying to shape the project so that they will learn science content (as opposed to the scientific process) seems less productive.

[Anonymous]

Pick one processed food that they both like, and do a project deconstructing the label.

Make a big photocopy of the label & put it in the middle of a poster. Have them write in their own words about what all the parts of the nutritional label mean.

Have them find pictures of all the ingredients--and explanations of the ones that they are not familiar with.

Then have them find a recipe for a home-made version of a similar food, make it, and compare tastes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my third grader and his friend would like to do a food science project for their science fair. We watched Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution together and ever since they are interested in what chemicals go into food and how science is used in food production. So we talked about maybe researching some of the weird/gross ingredients in food and show them with healthier alternatives..red dye v. beets as coloring for example, maybe compare how long proccessed food lasts without molding or changing its form-maybe compare that to a homemade alternative...and teaching them to read food PLU to compare coventional and organic food and GMO foods-take an organix tomatoe and compare it in terms of taste, appearance, cost...maybe touch upon enviornmental costs of both...anyway just ideas. I am looking for assistance in helping the boys fine tune their project in a way that they learn a few things about what's in our food..this isn't a massive project but I think it is a great learning opp for the kids. Any and all ideas would be welcome and appreciated. The kids will have a month to work on this, and present on a three board panel-they will have an outlet too. There is no prize, no award. Thanks!

OP, what about having the kids observe which items decay quickest? They could compare similar items (whole wheat bread with preservatives and without preservatives versus homemade)? Or make it white bread.