Cookies Result in Energy Education

Bringing Knowledge to Life! / Partner Report /
Ontonagon County
Courthouse, 725 Greenland Road
Ontonagon, Michigan49953
Phone: 906-884-4386 / E-mail:
Fax: 906-884-2582
Web: msue.msu.edu/Ontonagon
Director: Frank Wardynski
September 2009

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Thomas G. Coon, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing,MI48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

Cookies result in energy education

It’s nothing new for a 4-H’er to learn to bake cookies,but doing it without electricity definitely puts a new twist on an old skill. At 4-H Camp Alberta, held at Michigan Tech’s Ford Forestry Center this summer, 45 young people used empty cereal boxes, tinfoil, glue and scissors to make solar cookie ovens.

Camp Alberta’s theme was, “Keepin’ It Green,”and activities focused on all things earth-friendly. Campers explored the idea of energy, where it comes from and how we use it.

The youngsters learned how the sun is the main source for all the energy on Earth and that its energy has been stored up for millions of years in the forms of non-renewable oil and coal.

To understand the impact of using these fuels, Ontonagon County 4-H program associate Jody Maloney gave each camper a chocolate chip cookie, and asked him or her to “mine” the chocolate coal using a toothpick.

Campers feverishly dug out the chocolate chips, and piled up their chocolate energy. Before eating the chocolate, the campers had to put the earth, or in this case, the cookie, back the way they found it, minus the energy-rich chocolate coal. They discovered that mining or drilling non-renewable energy can be devastating to the planet, and also makes crumbs out of a perfectly good cookie.

After seeing the damage done to the chocolate chip cookies, campers understood the value of using more renewable resources from water, wind and plants, and that all of these sources are tied to the sun.

Examining sunny spots using a radiometer helped the campers determine that solar energy is easiest to obtain outside on sunny days. They had about two hours of afternoon sun to power their ovens, so they used their building time wisely and began working on converting cereal boxes into ovens.

They insulated the boxes with dark-colored paper to hold heat, then lined all of the flat areas on the inside of the box and a large flap cut from the box with shiny aluminum foil to reflect sunlight.

Ben Lienonen, a nine-year-old from Atlantic Mine, exclaimed to a friend, “This is so fun!” as he glued his solar panel together.

Finally, campers put their ovens to work. After placing dough in small aluminum bowls and covering the lids with saran wraps to create a greenhouse effect, campers carefully chose sunny spots on the lawn to catch the most light and bake their cookies.

After about 10 minutes, the campers’ ovens had cooked enough to bake oatmeal cookies for the entire camp, without using onecent’s worth of coal, oil or nuclear-fed power.

Before attending the camp, only three campers had seen a solar panel, but thanks to 4-H camp, 45 youth now understand that harnessing solar power isn’t complex, inaccessible science, but a possibility for everyone.

Young entrepreneurs turnlemons into dollars

This year’s 4-H Fun Week theme wasentrepreneurship, and it gave 15 4-H members the chance to learn skills they could use to make products for gifts or sale. continued

4-H Fun Week—continued

4-H members toured the local Pamida store to learn about how a retail business runs. They also took a walking tour of downtown Ontonagon and analyzed what they liked and didn’t like from a young entrepreneur’s perspective.

Local apiarist Melissa Hronkin gave a presentation to more than 30 4-H’ers and their parents about life as a beekeeper and the products that can be made from the results of the bees’ toil.

The 4-H’ers made lip gloss with beeswax. During the camp they also made soap, greeting cards, cake frosting and lemonade.

The 4-H’ers worked together, washing, squeezing and creating fresh-squeezed lemonade. They set up a lemonade stand by Peninsula Graphics and raised $92 in 30 minutes on a cloudy, misty day.

The group donated its proceeds to the OntonagonCounty4-H program, making them both young entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

Food preservationclass makes a hit in Ontonagon County

In May, a three-day educational programdesigned to introduce participants to the basics of home food preservation was offered at the Greenland Township Building in Mass City. Instructor Lucia Patritto, Gogebic County MSU Extension director,presented the program withKathie Preiss and Stacey Somero, Ontonagon County MSU Extension nutrition educators.

The 10 participants learned many aspects of canning, including home food processing, canning high- and low-acid foods, freezing food safely and cost-efficiently and making jams, jellies and preserves. The class also covereddehydrating foods and making jerky, as well as pickling and making relish products and practicing safe canning methods to prevent food-borne illnesses.

Severalhands-on demonstrationswere held with participants canning pears, pickled carrots, grape jelly and strawberry jamin a hot water bath. A dehydrator was used on zucchini, watermelon and to make fruit leather with applesauce and spices and beef jerky using hamburger.

Green beans and meat were processed in a pressure cooker. Participants worked together and had a good time as they learned the proper preservation methods.

All participants received a folder of MSU Extensionbulletinsaboutvarious methods for safely pressure canning, pickling, dehydrating and freezing foods. They also took home samples of the foods that were canned or dehydrated during the program.

A survey conducted following the program showed that participants especially appreciatedthe hands-on portionof the class and the chance to interact with others.

When asked, what I will do after taking the class that I didn’t do before? participants said they would use new recipes, new directions, use their dehydrator more, process foods differently by dehydrating or canning and one said they felt better about using a pressure canner.

The class was a great asset for the community and couldalso help families stretch their food dollars during the tough economic times the county is currently experiencing.

Gardening classes boost homegrown health benefits

With the rising costs of fresh fruits and vegetables, people are interested in raising their own produce. In April, two educational programs were conducted to help local residents improve their knowledge about how togrow their gardens for home consumption and for resale at local farmers’ markets.

Frank Wardynski, Ontonagon County MSU Extension director, conducted the gardening sessions, which covered topics ranging from getting started, to site selection, soil fertility and fertilization, composting, variety selection and crop rotation for minimizing pest infestation.

Several of the participants went on to plant gardens that have yielded produce through the summer. In addition, two of the participants have begun selling produce at a local farm market to generate additional household income.