Valley Stream kids learn the science of ice cream

Posted

Pre teens at the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library indulged in their sweet teeth on Aug. 2, as they covered their homemade ice cream with heaping piles of whipped cream as part of the library’s annual Kitchen Science Night.

Open to Valley Streamers grades 6 to 12, the annual event — running for five years now — is an opportunity for them to socialize and learn some of the science behind how ice cream is made.

“The purpose of this event is to allow for teenagers to have fun through an interactive and hands-on experience, while having them learn a little science and encouraging them to come to the library,” said library director, Mamie Eng. “It’s hard for teens to find safe places to go, so we provided this safe space for teens to become a community, instead of remaining in their own neighborhoods.”

After the pre teens poured culture salt, ice and half and half into plastic bags, some of them added strawberry syrup or chocolate syrup to create their own mixtures as an experiment to see if they could make chocolate or strawberry ice cream.

The process took some trial and error, according to Eng, with some mixtures proving to have too much of one ingredient or another. But eventually, the attendees were able to chow down on their creations.

“We hope that the teens enjoyed this and had fun, in this educational, social event,” Eng said. “We think that events like this truly help children because it aids in forming a community.”