Author Archives: Michelle Stern

Mar 15Student Perspectives on Genetically Modified Foo...

It's a lucky coincidence that during the same week that Pink Slime is making it big in the news, my students and I are discussing whether or not most foods are "natural." After a week of extracting our own DNA and using some fancy borrowed equipment, my high school students are intrigued about the uses of biotechnology in the world. Aside from their obsession with all things CSI and forensics, they were also curious about what is in the foods that they eat. The concept of "fish-berries" had...

Feb 22Real Food for Performance Athletes (Dog Sledding...

Regardless of your species, performance athletes require amazing REAL food to sustain their energy. On our winter vacation to Montana, our family had an adventure of a lifetime - we went dog sledding outside of Whitefish. The dogs were amazing athletes and ate an incredible diet. Dog Sled Adventures was an awesome operation, filled with 121 dogs (plus lots of barking and loads of yellow snow.) The animals are very well cared for, getting lots of attention from the staff and all of the...

Jan 26Extracting DNA from Strawberries – Food Science

Given all of the years that I have spent teaching children to cook and eat healthy, it comes as no surprise that I like to include food in my high school biology curriculum. Right now, we are finishing up a unit on cell division and DNA. My students were thrilled to find a large mug filled with strawberries on my desk this week on our lab day. But they couldn't get over the strange mixture of odors - the sweet fragrance of the berries combined with the vapors evaporating from our bottles of...

Jan 7Student Perspective - Reasons to Avoid Drinking ...

Student Perspective – Reasons to Avoid Drinking Soda

I recently set up a Facebook page for my high school biology students. I was having trouble getting them to visit our class website, so I figured I'd might as well meet them where they are already spending a lot of their time. In an effort to engage them, I decided that I'd post some super interesting (and gross) science-related news stories and offer them a little credit for giving their thoughts. The first news story that I posted was about a legal case in which a man sued Pepsi because...

Jan 1Happy New Year!

Our family couldn't have finished 2011 on a better note. Happy new year to you and your family. May it bring you delicious food, wonderful adventures, health and happiness. xoxoxoxo Michelle

Nov 1How Dog Training Has Made Me a Better Teacher

If there is one thing I have learned, it's that people don't like it when you compare their children to dogs. But here I am, doing it anyway. You see, I love dogs - and I genuinely believe they have a lot to teach us about raising and teaching children. I should probably start by telling you that I have spent a good portion of my life at our local animal shelter as a volunteer (and working for vets and dog groomers over the summers when I was young). I have also taken many dog training classes...

Sep 26Kitchen Science: Cabbage Juice Chemistry

After teaching cooking classes to children for 8 years, I didn't realize that I'd ever head back to the traditional classroom to teach biology again. But I have good news on many fronts: I love it. Even more than I thought I would. All of my recent experience setting up cooking classes for children has made it much much much easier to set up labs for my biology students. And finally, it is awesome to see how many labs I can do with my students that connect to food. Take our...

Aug 31My Journey From the Kitchen Back to School

I have spent the past 8 wonderful years as a teacher, but not in a traditional classroom. My students and I played with food as we learned to create delicious dishes, help the less fortunate and make good choices for our planet. The fish we worked with were edible. And we cooked them (perhaps with a Finding Nemo theme...). But now, there is a fish on my desk. And he is certainly not of the edible variety. My students are vying for the right to name him and enjoy asking me on a daily...

Aug 16Summer Camp: Our Iron Chef Challenge

When planning our cooking summer camp, I wanted the students to be able to showcase their new culinary skills and confidence. We decided that an Iron Chef Challenge on the final day would be just the strategy. The kids selected their own teams, evaluated the ingredients we had on hand, and then planned their menus. After approval from me, they began to prepare their food. The grand finale was their "camera challenge" where they had to present their dishes to the rest of the class, some guest...

Aug 12Summer Camp: Day 4 - We Visit the Farmer's Marke...

On day 4 of our cooking summer camp, we walked to our local farmer's market, where we did some investigative journalism... On our agenda was to learn about organic produce and meat - and why it was better for the environment. We were also eager to ask the pros about whether or not cucumbers were really a fruit or a vegetable. Along the way, we tasted amazing stone fruits, berries and a striped Armenian cucumber! Not a bad way to spend the morning!