Sponsored By
Senior
STEM Kits
“Engineering
Food Packaging”
“Sow What?”
These activities were developed by Girl
Scouts - Western Oklahoma and correlate
with the themes and practices found
within the “Sow What?” Girl Guide book.
The STEM Kit in A Box contains the necessary supplies to complete each activity,
except where noted. You will use these
materials to help the girls earn their Journey badges as Seniors. These activities
MUST be completed as part of their Journey throughout the course of the year.
Each kit includes a leader guide that gives
background information on the activities.
It is recommended that the girls guide
themselves through these activities with
minimal guidance from you, the leader.
Chris Simon, STEM Coordinator
Girl Scouts – Western Oklahoma
[email protected]
Phone: 405-528-4475 or 1-800-698-0022
This kit is provided through an award from the Oklahoma NSF EPSCoR program
and is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. IIA-1301789.
Project title: “Adapting Socio-ecological Systems to Increased Climate Variability.”
Any opinions, findings & conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. www.okepscor.org
Sponsored By
OK NSF EPSCoR Content Reviewers: Dr. Jody L. Campiche, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics and
Extension Economist, Oklahoma State University; Dr. Renee McPherson, Associate Professor of Geography and
Environmental Sustainability and Girl Scout, University of Oklahoma
Senior
STEM Kits
“Engineering
Food Packaging”
“Sow What?”
Food travels a long way from where it is manufactured to when it reaches your mouth. Along the
way, it can be dropped, rained on, left on a cold loading dock, or spend time in a warm pocket.
During that time, packaging protects the food from damage and contamination. Packaging
engineers must work to ensure that food arrives in the best possible condition while using
materials that are cost effective and environmentally friendly.
In this lesson, teams of 2 to 3 girls will explore the engineering design process and the materials
used in packaging by designing and testing a package that can protect a snack from heat and
water. After doing this activity, girls should understand the basic engineering involved in
designing food packaging, including constraints on materials, transportation, and costs. You will
need approximately 90 minutes to do this activity.
Background information:
Packaging for food serves to protect the consumables inside of it. Food packaging keeps goods from being damaged
during shipping and keeps the contents fresh. During shipping, food can encounter a number of different
environmental conditions ranging from drastic changes in temperature to rain or chemical exposure. Food
packaging continues to be important once the product has been purchased. It aids the consumer in preserving and
dispensing the food.
There are three major groups of materials used to package food: flexible, semi rigid, and rigid. Flexible materials
include paper (laminated and waxed) and plastic films. Aluminum foil, paperboard, and formed plastic are in the
semi-rigid category. Metal, glass, and thick plastic are considered rigid materials.
Paper, plastic, and aluminum foil are popular packaging materials in the snack food category. Plastic packaging
materials are the most versatile as they are able to vary dramatically in shape and strength. Plastic is used in bags,
wraps, and bottles and is resistant to air, moisture, and, in some cases, light. Recycled plastic products can be
manufactured into high-tech lumber, trash cans, and even new plastic containers. Aluminum is the cheapest
material that can block light, air, and moisture. However, aluminum can react with certain food products, adversely
affecting tastes and storage. Paper products are popular as a packaging material because they are easy to
customize. Special laminates can be used to make paper resistant to water. Paper products are also the only
packaging material that comes from a renewable natural resource.
A material’s ability to protect food from changing temperatures depends on the thickness of the material and how
well (or how poorly) the material conducts heat. Paper, plastic bags/wrap (polyethylene), and cardboard are the
poorest conductors of heat. Styrofoam and glass are slightly better conductors of heat while aluminum and other
metals are excellent conductors of heat.
Senior
STEM Kits
“Sow What?”
“Engineering
Food Packaging”
Materials:
Three or four snack foods with
different packaging such as candy,
chips, cookies for each group
(supplied by you). The amount
needed will depend on the size of
your troop. The girls will be divided
into groups of two for this activity.
Before the Meeting
You will need to set up the following stations:
• A heat station where the girls will conduct their heat
tests – use a hair dryer.
• A drop station where the girls can drop their s ‘more
from a height of 3 feet.
• A water station (you will pour a cup of water on the girls
package).
You will also need to set up a “store.” The girls will be
“purchasing” supplies; use the numbers on the cost sheet
as a way to track what each package costs. Have the girls
submit their cost sheets so you can give them a “cost
score.” The most expensive package gets 1 point; the least
expensive package gets 8 points (if there are 8 groups).
The rest are ranked in order of cost. Assign points as you
see fit.
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate bars or squares
• Graham crackers
• Aluminum pie plate
• Paper towels
• Stapler, masking tape, scissors
• Chip board cut into 3” squares
• 6” x 6” pieces of aluminum foil, wax
paper, and plastic wrap.
• Small foam plates cut in half
• Toothpicks
Other materials:
• Yardstick for “drop test”
• Hair dryer for “heat test”
• Stop watch or watch with second
hand for “heat test” (supplied by you)
• Plastic tub with a cup to hold and
dump water for “water test”
• Cost sheet
Senior
STEM Kits
“Sow What?”
“Engineering
Food Packaging”
Procedure
PART 1:
Examining Food Packaging
What’s the problem?
Snack food has to survive a rigorous journey from manufacturing site to when and where it is consumed. Girls will
evaluate the packaging of existing products to determine what methods effectively protect food from damaging
conditions.
Lead a discussion on how food gets from a factory to your plate.
ASK: What conditions might food experience? How about on its way to the store or even your house?
Have the girls divide into groups of 2 or 3 depending on amount of materials and the size of the troop. Give each
group an assortment of 3 or 4 snacks.
1. Have each group make a list of the materials used in their snacks and identify which materials are used to protect
the food from different conditions.
2. Lead a discussion on what broad categories these materials could be divided into.
ASK: Which materials protect from which conditions? Are any of the materials recyclable?
Senior
STEM Kits
“Sow What?”
“Engineering
Food Packaging”
PART 2: Designing Your Own Snack Packaging
The kit contains an activity sheet that list the cost of materials students can “purchase” to build their packaging.
After the activity, the teams will submit their “cost sheets” the troop leader to determine the most and least
expensive packages.
The Challenge
SAY: A new candy company wants to package individually-wrapped, ready-to-heat s ‘mores, made of two
graham cracker squares, a piece of chocolate, and a marshmallow. S’mores are often taken on camping trips and,
therefore, are subject to a variety of environmental conditions. After some testing, the condition that the
engineers are having the most problems with is making their packaging weatherproof. Design a package that will
protect one S’more from heat, water, and being dropped from a height of three feet.
Your team will also have to keep cost in mind, because, as a cost saving measure, the candy company does not
want the cost of producing the packaging to exceed 50 cents per package. Use the knowledge of existing packaging
as well as your own ideas to design packaging for ONE s ‘more.
ASK: How is your team going to solve the problem?
SAY: I want your team to sit and discuss what materials you are going to purchase and how you are going to build
your package. I need one person from each team to come up and get this cost sheet (hold up the cost sheet) along
with 2 paper towels, 2 graham crackers squares, 1 piece of chocolate, and 1 marshmallow. You will also need
scissors and tape. There is a stapler here for you to use if you need it.
(Give the girls enough time to plan how they are going to build their package; 5 to 10 minutes should be long
enough. After they have finished planning, have one girl per group come to the “store” with their cost sheet that
identifies the items their group has selected and the total cost. When everyone has purchased their materials, give
the teams time to build their package with their s ‘more inside.)
Senior
STEM Kits
“Sow What?”
“Engineering
Food Packaging”
(As each group finishes their package, ask the groups to come to the drop testing station first.)
SAY: Now that everyone has finished building their packaging, let’s begin our testing at the drop test station first.
You will hold your package at a height of three feet and drop it either to the table top or the floor below.
SAY: Next, you will go the heat station. You will need to tape your package to the bottom of the pie tin. Then
someone will hold a hair dryer six inches away from your package for a total of 45 seconds.
SAY: When you are finished with the heat station, take your package, still taped to the pie tin, and go to the water
test station. You will slowly pour the glass of water over your package. Make sure to dump the water left in the
bottom of the tin back into the tub. Then open your package and fill out your score sheet with your results!
(After testing is completed and the scores have been calculated, have each group present their packaging design
and final score. Remember, the more expensive their package costs, the worse their score should be.)
Lead a discussion evaluating the different designs presented. Which designs protect best against heat? Which one
cushioned the best when dropped? Which designs protect best against water or contaminants?
Engineering Summary
Finish with a discussion about how the girls approached the problem like engineers.