Vayu Maini Rekdal, a first year PhD student in the Molecules, Cells, and Organisms (MCO) program, has brought a passion for kitchen experimentation to Cambridge. He is the co-founder of the Young Chefs program, which offers free lesson plans to teachers on topics ranging from microbial science to crystal formation. Most of the lessons are adaptable from elementary to high school curricula, and have proven very popular among students.
Probably because the experiments are edible.
“Our approach was we wanted to hit both the science as well as the healthy eating component, because we were targeting underserved students where both of those were problems,” said Rekdal, who started the program while attending Carlton College in Minnesota in 2011, along with co-founder Emily Pence.
One popular example is a lesson plan about relative densities that involves layering fruit juices, from dense mango to light lime. Rekdal explains that lessons like these can be adapted to many grade levels, since the teachers themselves can decide how much scientific depth to include. A high school class, for example, might focus on molecular density, while a middle school class gets a simplified version.
“And then, they don’t just drink this layered drink, they take this mixture of liquids, pour it into a blender, add fruit and vegetables and make a smoothie,” Rekdal said.
The Young Chefs lesson plans are often requested by after-school and summer programs, some of which Rekdal himself organizes. These include past summer programs at the Harvard Ed Portal in Allston, the Margaret Fuller House in Central Square, and a program targeted at Native American students and teachers at Harvard Medical School.
Another after-school program that has made use of the Young Chefs lessons is School’s Out NYC (SONYC), which is run through the non-profit Immigrant Social Services (ISS) in New York City. ISS Executive Assistant Alice Feng said that the program was so popular, a second class had to be added. Feng said that an informal poll of the students about the program turned up overwhelmingly positive comments, with students describing their excitement over working in groups, trying new foods, and making their own pickles.
Rekdal also plans to partner with the MIT Media Lab’s Open Agriculture Initiative to create lessons based on MIT’s Personal Food Computers (PFCs). Although only a prototype, these self-contained, tabletop sized units could allow students to control the moisture, oxygen, and mineral intake of the plants grown inside. The Young Chefs program would develop lessons on all stages of the planting process, from seed to harvest.
Although initially Young Chefs found start-up funding from multiple sources, the program has evolved to be self-sustaining. Lessons are developed by volunteers and disseminated for free from the Young Chefs website, and teachers who use the lessons provide feedback and offer suggestions for improvements. For Rekdal, the most rewarding aspect of the program is to inspire interest in science and healthy eating in young students, and he plans to expand the program as far as he can. He hopes this summer to organize MCB graduate students to help him take the lessons into the surrounding community, sparking young students’ interest in science through fun summer school programs.
Read more in Harvard Gazette
Read more in Huffington Post
YOUNG CHEFS: MCO STUDENT OFFERS SCIENCE THROUGH SUSTENANCE
