Hey there! Today, we’re going to have some fun with a tasty science project. We’re going to build a gingerbread house! Squeaks and I love peppermint treats, but now we’re excited to try something new and delicious: gingerbread!
Before we start building, we need a plan. That’s what engineers do when they design buildings. Part of our plan is choosing the right materials and understanding their properties. Properties are special qualities of materials, like color, hardness, or taste.
For example, the top of a table might feel smooth and hard, and it could look blue. These are its properties. Our gingerbread house will have walls and a roof made of gingerbread cookies. So, what properties should our cookies have?
It’s important that our gingerbread tastes good, but it also needs to be strong and sturdy. There are different recipes for gingerbread. Some make soft, chewy cookies, while others make crunchy ones. We need cookies that are a bit hard so our walls won’t crumble, but not too hard, or they might shatter under the weight of the roof.
We also need to bake the cookies properly. Just like how heat changes eggs from goopy to hard, it changes cookie dough into crisp cookies. This is important for our gingerbread walls and roof.
Now that we have our cookies baked, cooled, and cut into the right shapes, we need to make them stand up. We need something sticky and tasty to hold the edges together. What could that be? Icing!
But we need the right kind of icing. If it’s too thin, it won’t hold the pieces together. If it’s too runny, it won’t dry quickly, and our house might fall apart. It’s a bit tricky, but engineers never give up!
We’ve got the walls up and the roof in place using icing as glue. Now it’s time to decorate! But we have to be careful not to add too much weight, or stress, to the walls and roof. Stress in buildings is like the forces pushing and pulling on them. If there’s too much stress, the icing might not hold, and the walls could fall apart.
So, we’ll add decorations slowly, using icing to stick them on, and wait for it to dry. While we wait, we can enjoy some leftover gingerbread!
Thanks for joining Squeaks and me on this fun adventure. If you want to keep learning and having fun with us, be sure to subscribe to SciShow Kids. See you next time!
Experiment with Cookie Properties: Gather different types of cookies or crackers from your kitchen. Feel and observe each one. Are they soft, hard, chewy, or crunchy? Try to build a small structure using these cookies. Which ones work best for building? Discuss why some cookies are better for building than others. This will help you understand the importance of choosing the right materials for your gingerbread house.
Design Your Own Gingerbread House: Draw a picture of your dream gingerbread house. Think about the shapes and sizes of the walls and roof. What decorations will you add? Use crayons or colored pencils to make your drawing colorful. Share your design with a friend or family member and explain why you chose those shapes and decorations. This activity will help you think like an engineer and plan your project before building.
Observe Icing as Glue: With the help of an adult, make a small batch of icing. Try using it to stick together different small objects like pieces of cereal or small crackers. Notice how the icing holds the pieces together. What happens if the icing is too runny or too thick? This experiment will show you how important it is to have the right consistency for your gingerbread house icing.
