Any one use their hobby to help their child

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grinder143

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My daughter has a mandatory science fair project. So in my infinite wisdom decided lets make beer and show the fermintation process. what do you think the school will say.
 
I wouldn't think making beer would fly, either.

However, that's no reason you couldn't use your knowledge and gadgets to help her out in some other area that is related to what you do (depending on how much stuff you have available). This can range from liquid densities (SG testing and what it means), CO2 pressures versus temperature, carbonating liquids, yeast culturing, bacterial infection, quickest way to cool off cans (of soda), immersion chiller vs. CFC vs. plate heat exchanger, etc.
 
I think it probably really depends on two things, first and foremost is the temperament of those who will judge you, both officially and unofficially. If they think that your school is rife with drug and alcohol abuse, then they are likely to see it as an attempt to blatantly rub their noses in the problem. Secondly is how you present the project, If you present it as "Beer & Wine, and how they are made." the reaction is likely to be corruption of minors. :drunk:
But if you present it as "Yeast at work in the world around us. i.e. Bread or wine." It may be more easily received.

Note, these are simply my humble opinions and should not be interpreted as what will actually happen.
 
WHat are you planning to cover, the conversion of starch to sugars, or the conversion of sugars to alchohol. I think you gould design a neat experiment setting up a simple mashing in a tiny 1-2 gallon cooler and then prove conversion with an iodine test.

I think someone has done a sciece fair exhibit on here. A thread like this rings a big bell from a few years ago.
 
I know this is a month old, but I just got hit with the same thing today. I immediately thought about doing the aeration effects on fermentation. I'm going to email my daughters teacher tomorrow and ask if it's cool. I think if we leave beer and/or wine out of it and just speak of ethanol and CO2 we should be good.
 
Just an idea that would need to be fleshed out - What if you only use flaked maize (and maybe some sugar) and steer the project on a biofuel slant instead of beer?
 
Hey, if they don't let you make beer, you can always try moonshine...! ;) (Sorry, couldn't help it)

Seriously though, I'd think you can do a less controversial (and faster, more engaging) fermentation experiment by baking bread, than making beer. You can literally have the whole process down in less than an hour, and if you use one of those small toaster ovens, you can even show the fermentation in real time...
 
Little bit off topic but for a physics project at high school I once "investigated" the priciples behind why it is harder to skull a beer from a bottle compare with a funnel. Did time trials and conducted experiments into the amount of vacuum created inside a beer bottle if you try drink it without letting air back in. Some of it was done on school ground (but had to use water instead, but still was funny when some teachers walked past that had no idea what we were doing standing in the middle of a classroom drinking from a beer bottle with hoses hooked up to it!)
Good times....


Oh and I think I actually got pretty good marks for it, I think its all in how you present it!
 
You could show the process of alpha and beta amalyse breaking down starches into sugars. You could make the equivalent of the mexican drink "malto goya" which is pretty much unfermented beer. The kids could then drink the nice sweet wort which used to be simple grains. If you had a kegging system you could even carbonate it like a soda I imagine. No use mention of alcohol whatsoever and the kids get to learn.
 
I would think with zero tolerance policies schools have nowadays, any mention of beer, wine, barley, hops, grapes/fruit would be pretty suspect. That's why I suggested the biofuels angle. It's all the same process.

Bread would be a good way to go too. Keep it simple with leavened bread versus unleavened.
 
My daughter just did her science fair project last month. I educated her on the uses of yeast and how you can use yeast to carbonate beverages. We ended up making home made root beer (extract type) and took pictures during the whole process. She got an A!
 
We made moonshine in my 10th grade science class, but that was 13 years ago, we're talking about 5th grade here, and from what I've heard times have changed with regards to what they can do in school now.
 
Keep it about yeast reproduction/budding or about yeast metabolic pathways and you'll be fine.

Borrow a microscope from the school and get a hemocytometer and some methylene blue for cell counting and a way to show the kiddos what the cell looks like. If you can secure a digital microscope with a CCD and have her video the budding process that would be cool too.
 
My daughter has a mandatory science fair project. So in my infinite wisdom decided lets make beer and show the fermintation process. what do you think the school will say.

I think the school would say - "Why are you asking? It is your daughter's project." At least that is the response you would get from the school my wife works at. ;)

When your daughter asks her teacher, the answer would probably say "no" as I would imagine it would be illegal for your 5th grade daughter to be in possession of beer.

Many of the other ideas presented sound good, and next year my son may use some of them for his science fair project.
 
My six grade science project was a still.:D It was just a hot plate, old pressure cooker and a bunch of copper tubing.

Of course all I did for the project was put salt water in and get pure water out.

Brewing is way too complicated with too many seperate processes involved.
The yeast angle is probably the easiest....and a flask of smelly, foamy goop will be a big hit with the kids:)
 
still was funny when some teachers walked past that had no idea what we were doing standing in the middle of a classroom drinking from a beer bottle with hoses hooked up to it!)
Good times....

We do something similar at our yearly adult science fair:D

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Cheers,
ClaudiusB
 
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