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KIDZ LAB

2010-2011 KIDZ LAB CHALLENGE WINNERS!

In June, the winners of the 2010/11 Kidz Lab Challenge were savoured, relished, and devoured!

The challenge - help celebrate the International Year of Chemistry by creating a cool concoction - kept young scientists, their parents and teachers busy testing ideas. Kidz headed to the laboratory (the kitchen) with a basic recipe for ice cream and came out with some of the coolest flavours, wackiest names, and weirdest ingredients ever imagined.

After reviewing hundreds of submissions from Ontario to Alberta, including lab notes, photos and other documents detailing our young scientists' processes, a panel of judges held a final, blind taste-test to determine the winners.

And the winners are ...

Grade 3 boys reading club at Queen Victoria P.S., Hamilton for Lumpy Guts (Funkiest Name).
Scientist Gabrielle, St. Marguerite D'Youville school, Richmond Hill for The Alien Special (Most Appealing Appearance).
Scientist Oliver, Blessed Sacrament school, Toronto for Crunchy Cream (Wackiest Ingredient).
Scientist Zaida-Joy, Brimwood Boulevard P.S., Scarborough for Caribbean Sunset (Mind-blowing Flavour).
Ms. Rabjohn's Grade 1 class at Meadowcrest P.S., Brooklin for a group of recipes (Most Creative Concoctions).

Winners received a free Scientists in School workshop for their class, a class pizza party, and a gift basket of ice cream ingredients to keep them going through the summer. Give them a try and see if you agree with the judges' decisions.

The Kidz Lab Challenge can be a great addition to your class activities. Project-based learning often appeals to kids who might not otherwise be as engaged in the classroom. One mother who wrote to us about the Kidz Lab Challenge, noted that her son, who is usually "shy and quiet," so enjoyed participating in the challenge that he gained confidence in the classroom. We've come to expect outcomes like this when kids have fun learning science.

Stay tuned for the 2011/12 Kidz Lab Challenge contest. As soon as the new contest is announced, we will update the Kidz Lab Challenge page on the website. But if you want to find out about the new contest as soon as possible (and other happenings at Scientists in School), LIKE us on Facebook. We will post the new contest information as soon as it is available.

Here is the Basic Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe:

125 mL (½ cup) milk
25 mL (1 tbsp) sugar
15 mL (½ tsp) vanilla
1. Mix the milk, sugar and vanilla, pour into a sandwich size Ziploc bag and seal tightly.
2. Put 500 mL (2 cups) of ice cubes and 150 mL (6 tbsp) of salt in a large Ziploc bag.
3. Put the sandwich bag into the large bag, close tightly and shake for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Remove the small bag and rinse the outside of this bag to remove the salt.

And the winners are:

In the Category - Funkiest Name - LUMPY GUTS!

Submitted by the Grade 3 boys reading club at Queen Victoria Public School in Hamilton (teacher - Mrs. McKenna).

Lumpy Guts:

Make the basic ice cream recipe and then add:
Swedish berries
Nibs
Sprinkles
Marshmallows
Chocolate chips
Coconut

The Grade 3 boys reading club says their recipe is the best because: The flavours mix together; the red colour makes it look like its name; guts are chunky and it looks like that; boys and girls will like it - boys for the name and girls for the colour; and the name makes you wonder what it is!

From left to right: Ms. Lowe-Ching, Allison Armstrong, Scientists in School, winner Gabrielle (L to R); Learning about forces of nature with Scientist Lisa; Scientist Gabrielle's class learns about gravity; Enjoying the Pizza Party.

In the Category - Most Appealing Appearance - THE ALIEN SPECIAL!

Submitted by Scientist Gabrielle from Ms. Lowe-Ching's grade 2/3 class at St. Marguerite d'Youville school in Richmond Hill

The Alien Special:

Make the basic ice cream recipe and then add:
Cherry licorice
Colourful M and M's
Green food gel
One chocolate chip cookie

Scientist Gabrielle says her recipe is the best because: The chocolate chips with the vanilla ice cream tastes wonderful, the M and M's are crunchy, the ice cream is soft and cold and the licorice is very chewy. Every spoon full of my recipe is unique!

From left to right: Oliver receives his prize joined by his mom (L) and his teacher Mrs. Cerre (R); 2. Gooey is good; 3. Kitchen Chemistry for Kids; Making a gas.

In the Category - Wackiest Ingredient - CRUNCHY CREAM!

Submitted by Scientist Oliver, representing Mrs. Cerre's grade 1 class at Blessed Sacrament school in Toronto

Crunchy Cream:

Make the basic ice cream recipe and then:
Break 5 Pringle chips into small pieces and add to mix

Scientist Oliver says his recipe is the best because: It's salty and sweet and tastes great!

From left to right: Madame Law, winner Zaida-Joy, and Lynn Boyd, Scientists in School; Looking at bones under the microscope; Digging for bones in an owl pellet; The class chose Adventures in the Bone Zone for their award workshop.

In the Category - Mind-Blowing Flavour - CARIBBEAN SUNSET!

Submitted by Scientist Zaida-Joy, direct from Madame Law's grade 4 class at Brimwood Boulevard school in Scarborough

Caribbean Sunset:

Make the basic ice cream recipe and then add:
6 tbsp mango nectar
2 tbsp coconut milk
1-2 tbsp mashed banana
1 tbsp sweetened coconut flakes

Scientist Zaida-Joy says her recipe is the best because: It's creamy with coconut milk, has an awesome name, has chewy coconut flakes and is rich with mango nectar. It makes you feel like you are on a trip to Jamaica!

From left to right: A butterfly wing reveals secrets under the microscope; A starfish is among the many creatures studied; How many different shells can you identify?; Ms. Rabjohn's class chose Animal Coverings and Adaptations for their award workshop.

In the Category - Most Creative Concoctions - LOTS OF RECIPES!

Submitted by Ms. Rabjohn's entire grade 1 class of students at Meadowcrest Public School in Brooklin

Sprinkles Splat

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
1 "splat" of sprinkles
And a cherry on top!

Scientist Ava says her recipe is the best because: It has sprinkles!

DT Caramint Choco-Swirl Ice Cream

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
1/8 tsp. peppermint extract
1/8 tsp. rum extract
1 tbsp. white chocolate chips
1 tbsp. milk chocolate chips

Scientist David says his recipe is the best because: It has caramel sauce on top.

Earth-tastic

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
3 drops green food colouring
Small chunk chocolate bark (or grated chocolate)
Gummy worms
Gummy whales
1 tsp. chocolate rocks (or chips)

Scientist Lauren says her recipe is the best because: It has lots of different colours in it.

Disney Magic Ice Cream

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
2 tbsp. NERDS candy

Scientist Emma says her recipe is the best because: It is the sweetest and the most tasty.

Madelyn's Wacky Watermelon Surprise

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
1 cup chopped watermelon (pureed)
12 Swedish berries
Sour watermelon candies

Scientist Madelyn says her recipe is the best because: Even my doggie Finnigan loved my recipe!

Sugar Shack-tastic

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
1 chocolate pudding cup
¼ cup toffee chips
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup tropical Skittles
1 tbsp. candy sprinkles

Scientist Chloe says her recipe is the best because: It is yummy, pretty, fun to make, colourful and it has an awesome name!

Purrrr-fect Kitty Cream

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above EXCEPT:
Use 1/4 cup milk and ? cup chocolate milk (instead of ¼ cup milk)
And add ¼ cup Kit Kat pieces
Then shake

Scientist Audra says her recipe is the best because: I put a lot of hard work into it!

Sprinkled Sugar Surprise Ice Cream

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above EXCEPT:
Use a ½ cup soya milk instead of milk (so lactose intolerant people can eat the ice cream too!)
Then add:
1 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. mango puree
1 tbsp. raspberry puree
1 tsp. rainbow sprinkles

Scientist Ella says her recipe is the best because: I couldn't use milk because my brother is allergic so I made my own ice cream recipe.

Candy Necklace Surprise

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
2 candy necklaces, crushed

Scientist Nicole says her recipe is the best because:
There once was a girl named Nicole
Who sat in front of a bowl
She thought she'd have candy
With ice cream, that's dandy!
She now understood
This ice cream tastes good!

Vanilla Dream

Deacon made the basic ice cream recipe and it was so good! Deacon says: "It tasted like a million ice creams!"

Alison's Arachnid Ice Cream Avalanche

Make the basic ice cream recipe EXCEPT:
Use ½ cup whipping cream (35% MF) instead of ½ cup milk
Use 1 tbsp. brown sugar instead of white sugar
Then add:
1 gummy Tarantula candy

Scientist Alison says her recipe is the best because: She tried it three times and it was good!

Yummy Yeates Kickin' Fruit & Poppers Ice Cream

Make the basic ice cream recipe EXCEPT:
Use ½ cup chocolate pudding instead of ½ cup milk
Then add:
1 tsp. strawberry poppers
1 tsp. chocolate poppers
1 kickin' fruit by the foot
½ cup 10% cream

Scientist Justin says his recipe is the best because: I had to shake what my Mama gave me!

The Candy Blast (by Scientist Katerina)

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
1 tbsp. jellybeans
1 tbsp. gummy bears
1 cup marshmellows
1 tsp Skittles
½ cup Oreos
1 tbsp. Smarties
1 cup chocolate chips
Sprinkles (to add on top)
1 waffle cup

Hockey Puck Sensation

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1.5 tbsp. extra rich hot chocolate mix

Scientist Owen says his recipe is the best because: The chocolate chips kind of tasted like hockey pucks ground up.

Crispy Smith Ice Cream

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above EXCEPT:
Use ¼ cup milk and a ¼ cup chocolate milk instead of ½ cup of milk
Then add:
Coloured crispy ball sprinkles
Coloured crispy mini chocolate chips
Coloured crispy mini Easter eggs

Scientist David says his recipe is the best because: My ice cream was so tasty, I went hyper!

Gummy Lemon Ice Cream (by Scientist Thomas)

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above with lemon juice (to taste) and garnish with gummie candies!

Candied Crab Ice Cream

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
½ cup crab that has been sautéed in 2 tbsp. butter and 3 tbsp. brown sugar

Scientist Noah says his recipe is the best because: No one else used fish!

Blue Jays Ice Cream

Make the basic ice cream recipe listed above and then add:
Blue food colouring
Jelly beans
Chocolate chips
Waffle cone to serve it in!