Recommended Website:
FieldMuseum.org: Chocolate – The Exhibition
You are in for a treat! The Field Museum (in conjunction with the National Science Foundation) has developed a terrific online chocolate exhibit (and free complementary lesson plans!) that not only demonstrates the manufacture of chocolate from seed to sweet — but includes the history and science of chocolate as well! The virtual exhibit is a companion to the real exhibit that is touring the country right now (currently at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco).
When you get to this site (that was brought to my attention by list member MaryAnna), you will see a picture. Below it is a menu that includes:
- Chocolate Exhibition – Just a brief introduction to the exhibit, includes info about the highlights of the exhibit.
- All About Chocolate – An amazing journey through the 2,000 year history of chocolate. Includes its rainforest habitat in South America and the Maya, Aztec, and Spanish people who discovered it and made it popular. Get info on the cacao tree’s unusual characteristics. Find out how chocolate is made and learn about the unusual health properties of chocolate. Can’t get enough chocolate? Find books, films, and resources to satiate your hunger for more info. Don’t miss the “Just For Kids” section with fun facts, recipes, crossword puzzles and more!
- Educator’s Resources — Download the FREE 12-lesson set called “Cocoa Connections: From Beans to Bars.” The curriculum helps students discover the botanical source of chocolate, explore the ecological connections of chocolate, investigate cultural interactions via chocolate, and understand the economic role of chocolate. Lessons include student activity sheets in English and Spanish!
- Manufacturing Chocolate from Seed to Sweet – A fabulous animation that explains how chocolate is grown, harvested, and manufactured. This is really a virtual tour of the process — but it’s interactive so you can explore areas specifically of interest to you.
- Take the Chocolate Challenge to test your knowledge!
- The Cacao Farm – Don’t miss this! You can use your mouse to access tools such as binoculars or a microscope so you can get up close and personal with everything from rainforest critters that live where cacao trees grow, to fungus on cacao pods. Fascinating!
