Cooking & Food Science STEM Activities for Kids (38 results)

Saucy Science: Exploring the Science of Marinades

STEM Activity

Have you ever tasted a delicious burger and wondered how it got so much flavor? Maybe you have heard your family talk about marinating foods before cooking or grilling them. A marinade is a mixture of seasonings used to flavor or tenderize food. Most cooks have strong opinions about the best way to marinate their favorite food, be it a large steak or a tofu burger. In this activity, you will do a test to see what factors might be most important in making a marinade stick to the surface of food.… Read more

Scrumptious Science: How Much Baking Powder Does Cornbread Need?

STEM Activity

Have you ever wondered about the purpose of each of the ingredients in your favorite recipes? For example, why is baking powder used in some muffin recipes? How does the baking powder affect how the muffins look, feel and taste? In this science activity, you will use a scientific method to make some cornbread muffins to find out. And then you can decide on the best recipe to use if you want to make some cornbread for New Year’s Day, which is part of a Southern tradition where the… Read more

Soft-Boiled Science: Egg-cellently Cooked Eggs

STEM Activity

3 reviews

Have you ever been in such a rush in the morning that you barely had time for breakfast? Eggs can be a perfect breakfast choice because they can be cooked quickly and in many different ways. Not only do eggs have a spotlight right now because of Easter approaching, but eggs have been commonly eaten for thousands of years, all year round and all over the world. A soft-boiled egg is a choice that many people make. They like the way the thickened tasty yolk coats their hash… Read more

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Make String from Algae

STEM Activity

210 reviews

Did you know that the seaweed you've seen in the ocean or even eaten as a snack is inspiring innovators to imagine new materials? Large brown algae, like kelp, contains polymers—long chains of molecules—that are more environmentally friendly than the ones in most plastics. These natural polymers (alginates) could eventually be used to create sustainable everyday objects. Try your hand at using a bit of chemistry to turn biodegradable polymers from algae into your own custom… Read more

Solidifying Science: Which Fruits Can Ruin Your Gelatin Dessert?

STEM Activity

Have you ever noticed that if you’re making a gelatin dessert, like JELL-O, it’s not recommended to use certain fruits, like pineapple? Why is this? It’s because these fruits may prevent the gelatin from solidifying. In this activity you’ll get to determine if certain enzymes in some fruits are preventing the gelatin from solidifying, and whether there’s a way to still include these fruits without ruining your gelatin dessert! Read more

Soupy Science: Investigate How Dried Beans Absorb Water

STEM Activity

1 review

Have you ever had black-eyed peas for New Year’s Day? They’re often used as part of a traditional meal in the South on this day. Dried beans themselves are a major ingredient in dishes served all over the world. In their dried form, they can be stored for years and then “brought back to life” by soaking them in water. In this science activity, you will explore how the temperature of the water used to rehydrate dried black-eyed peas (which are technically beans) affects… Read more

St. Patrick’s Day Science: Brew up Some Green Soda Pop!

STEM Activity

3 reviews

Have you ever wanted to make your own soda pop? Even if you haven’t, maybe as a treat on a relaxing afternoon you like to open a can of your favorite carbonated beverage and take a deep drink. The bubbles in the soda tickle your tongue’s taste buds and propel the ingredients to your palate and nose so that you get a kick of flavor. But how do the bubbles, fizz and taste get into the water? In this tasty science activity, you will work with baking soda, citric acid and sugar to… Read more

Succulent Science: The Role of Fats in Making a Perfect Pastry

STEM Activity

Have you ever wanted to bake the perfect pie to help warm up the cold holiday season? No matter whether it is apple, pumpkin, chocolate, pecan or pumpkin pie, every good pie needs a well-made pie crust. If the pastry crust is heavy or chewy then that can really affect how much you enjoy the pie. But how do you make a pastry crust that is light and flaky? In this scrumptious science activity, you will find out by investigating how the temperature of fat used (in dough) can affect a… Read more

Sweet as Sugar: Comparing the Sweetness of Sugar & Sugar Substitutes

STEM Activity

7 reviews

Picture your favorite treats: chocolate fudge cake, vanilla ice cream, pink lemonade… Yum! Can you imagine what these might taste like without the sweet flavor of sugar? Your sweet tooth might be aching without the chemical compound of sucrose that is so appealing. Much of the food we eat contains sucrose or natural sweeteners such as honey. There are of course other sweetening options. Have you ever seen "zero-calorie and sugar-free lemonade" at the store and wondered how it… Read more

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