Kitchen Chemistry
In this project, my group mates and I had to select a chemistry topic, teach a mini-lesson to the class about it, and do a demonstration and experiment with the class using everyday chemicals and items that could be found in our kitchens or households. The topic that my group and I chose was "Ice Cream in a Bag" , where we made ice cream by mixing simple ingredients in a small plastic bag and following a few simple steps. After completing the experiment, we taught the class about the science behind our experiment by discussing topics such as solutes, solvents, the dissolving process at a molecular level, and more. We then had the class make their own ice cream in a bag, which was both fun, educational, and delicious.
The picture to the left shows the basic steps that are needed to complete this project. You start off with all of the ingredients (milk, vanilla, salt, sugar, ice, and heavy whipping cream) and mix the ice and salt in a larger bag separate from the milk, vanilla, sugar, and cream mixture that should be in a smaller bag. You then place the smaller bag inside the larger bag, close the bags so they are air tight, and shake the large bag with the small bag inside for about 5 minutes. The ice cream should harden in that time, so when you think it is ready, you can take it out and eat! This is the process my teammates and I had to go through to complete our project.
This project was one of the funnest projects that we did all year, mainly because it was all up to us to see how we would put together our final product. In my group's case, we had to make the ice cream about three times before we actually got it to feel and taste the way we wanted it to, but we had so much fun trying to figure it all out. This project definitely helped me see how useful chemistry is and how it is such an important role in the making of things that we face in our daily lives, and sometimes we do not even think about it.