Science of Chocolate at the South Florida Science Museum

This past weekend, we attended the Science of Chocolate event at the South Florida Science Museum (February 18-19, 2012).  Background: my 10-year-old daughter is a self-proclaimed hater of science (which I don't approve of, by the way).  Just bringing up the subject of a "science museum" is enough to send her running.  However, she is a big fan of chocolate.  Add in the fact that some of her friends were also going, a visit to the science museum became highly anticipated!


Though this is an annual event, it was our first time attending, and I really wasn't sure what to expect from promises of chocolate demonstrations and the prospect of making chocolate play-doh.  (Side note: if you have any coupons for the museum admission, they are not accepted during this event!) 


So, did Science and Chocolate combine for a fun day with the kids?  They sure did!  While the chocolate play-doh was a little underwhelming (do you eat it, or play with it?), the other activities were tasty and entertaining.  And who doesn't like free samples?


The 2 favorites for all of the kids were the Chocolate Fountain (thank you Hoffman's Chocolates!) and the demonstration / tasting table (thank you Lincoln Culinary Institute!).  While the chocolate fountain was limited to a one-time visit, Lincoln Culinary's table was an all-you-can-eat offering of chocolate-covered goodies, including marshmallows, strawberries, oreos, and pretzels.  Chefs were also busy molding chocolate into delicate flowers and other creations.

There were lots of chocolate fun facts to learn during "Chocolate Jeopardy".  Unfortunately, my 2-year-old was cranky by then, so I excused the two of us while the rest of the kids continued playing.  When it was over, they came out with their chocolate prizes: mini candy bars and, since this is a science museum, chocolate covered crickets.  Yes, crickets!  The funniest part is that my picky-eater 7-year-old son, who really only likes pizza and chicken tenders, actually ate one.  Maybe next time we're having steak for dinner, I'll try covering it in chocolate to see if he will eat it.


For me, the "coolest" part was the Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream demo.  Fun Fact: Liquid nitrogen is REALLY cold, like minus 195 degrees Celsius cold (that's minus 320 Fahrenheit)!  It's definitely cold enough to freeze a mix of milk, cream, sugar, and chocolate syrup pretty quickly.  After watching a few experiments on what liquid nitrogen can do, volunteers from the audience helped pour and stir the ingredients, and within minutes, we were all sampling homemade chocolate ice cream!


Stuffed with chocolate and buzzing from a sugar-high, all of the kids declared it a really great day.  The South Florida Science Museum is usually a fun way to spend an afternoon, but the Science of Chocolate made it even better.  You can bet that we'll be returning for next year's event!