3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
[MZZ43-P12] A Stratovolcano Experiment for Children Focusing on Eating ~Chocolate Biscuit Volcano~
Keywords:volcano experiment, food, children, education, delicious
The spread of Covid-19 has reduced opportunities for school education by Hakone Geopark. From 2020, Hakone Geopark has been creating pamphlets that enable people to enjoy learning about Hakone Geopark at home. This volcano experiment was made for the 2022’s pamphlet (Kurashina, 2022). “Kitchen Volcanology” is characterized by reproducing volcanic phenomena with edible materials and is highly effective for children. “The World's Most Delicious Volcano Book” (Hayashi, 2006) is famous as a book about volcano experiments that children can eat. The subject of these experiments is to reproduce faithfully volcanic phenomena. However, the completed volcano is an aggregation of edible materials rather than a food with perfect taste and edible materials are collected after experiments, paying attention to food loss. We developed the experiment with the idea of creating a complete food that can be eaten immediately after the experiment and limited the content (underlined below) to be conveyed in the volcanic phenomenon. Since the volcanic phenomenon is a process in which disorder increases, it is a big contradiction that substances are concentrated and became complete food at the end, but we tried to explain within the range of understanding of the children of the participants. However, from the viewpoint of food loss, it is important to complete the food after the experiment. We think that there should be experiments like cooking practices. Currently, there are cases that specialize in perfecting sweets, such as the Geogashi Kitchen Class (Geogashi Ryokodan), but there are no volcano experiments making sweets to be found.
[Experiment: Making a stratovolcano as a biscuit topping] In this experiment, a stratovolcano was made by three edible materials. We explain that the chocolate is lava, which melt when hot and solidifies when cold and that finely crushed biscuits, sugar powder and cocoa powder are pyroclasts, which have various sizes. Process is as follows. We explain that volcanic ejecta is divided into liquid form and various sized solid form. Putting a biscuit approximately 4 cm in diameter on a paper plate as the basement rock. Assuming an eruption at center vent, participant squeezed a chocolate pen on the center of the biscuit, and created the base volcanic edifice. Then, participant piled up the finely crushed biscuits and sugar powder or cocoa powder. Let the participants observe how the volcano grows depositing them. Different kinds of pyroclastic materials were used for the purpose of increasing the number of layers and increasing the variation of seasoning. Before eating, cut it in half and observe the formation of strata on the cross section.
[Results] In May 2022, the chocolate spread neatly and formed a base volcano edifice (Fig. 1 ①). In November 2022, it was cool, and the molten chocolate moved like a growing lava dome than a lava flow. When stacking edible materials in order, we observed the following phenomenon: Chocolate flowed from the summit in a direction that was easy to flow (Fig. 1 ④) or formed a lava dome on the summit (Fig. ⑥). Some even recreated “sector collapses” by throwing them off balance (Fig. ⑦). However, in the end, everyone completed their own original delicious looking stratovolcanoes (Fig. 1 ⑤). On the cross section, it was observed that the three types of layers were alternately overlapped (Fig. 1 ⑧). The cost was within 400 yen per person. After the experiment, we put the ingredients left on the paper plate into a cup and poured warm milk to make a cocoa-style drink. And we ate it with the Chocolate Biscuit Volcano, but no child left it. We were able to finish the sweets with a high degree of satisfaction without causing food loss. We plan to increase the degree of perfection as a volcano experiment by repeating the experiment practices.
[Experiment: Making a stratovolcano as a biscuit topping] In this experiment, a stratovolcano was made by three edible materials. We explain that the chocolate is lava, which melt when hot and solidifies when cold and that finely crushed biscuits, sugar powder and cocoa powder are pyroclasts, which have various sizes. Process is as follows. We explain that volcanic ejecta is divided into liquid form and various sized solid form. Putting a biscuit approximately 4 cm in diameter on a paper plate as the basement rock. Assuming an eruption at center vent, participant squeezed a chocolate pen on the center of the biscuit, and created the base volcanic edifice. Then, participant piled up the finely crushed biscuits and sugar powder or cocoa powder. Let the participants observe how the volcano grows depositing them. Different kinds of pyroclastic materials were used for the purpose of increasing the number of layers and increasing the variation of seasoning. Before eating, cut it in half and observe the formation of strata on the cross section.
[Results] In May 2022, the chocolate spread neatly and formed a base volcano edifice (Fig. 1 ①). In November 2022, it was cool, and the molten chocolate moved like a growing lava dome than a lava flow. When stacking edible materials in order, we observed the following phenomenon: Chocolate flowed from the summit in a direction that was easy to flow (Fig. 1 ④) or formed a lava dome on the summit (Fig. ⑥). Some even recreated “sector collapses” by throwing them off balance (Fig. ⑦). However, in the end, everyone completed their own original delicious looking stratovolcanoes (Fig. 1 ⑤). On the cross section, it was observed that the three types of layers were alternately overlapped (Fig. 1 ⑧). The cost was within 400 yen per person. After the experiment, we put the ingredients left on the paper plate into a cup and poured warm milk to make a cocoa-style drink. And we ate it with the Chocolate Biscuit Volcano, but no child left it. We were able to finish the sweets with a high degree of satisfaction without causing food loss. We plan to increase the degree of perfection as a volcano experiment by repeating the experiment practices.