HOME EXPLORATIONS: STEM CHALLENGE
In this final part of the unit, students are invited to explore their own questions by using peanuts (or pecans), sweet potatoes, or peanut butter. "One reason I never patent my products is that if I did it would take so much time, I would get nothing else done. But mainly I don't want my discoveries to benefit specific favored persons." George Washington Carver
In this exploration we will give students peanuts or sweet potatoes and ask them to use the processes they have learned to find a possible new use. Determine peanut/nut tolerances before engaging in this exploration. If nuts are a serious allergic issue, select other food products such as soybeans, avocados, or other fruit or vegetable that has oil/fat content, fiber, and sugars.
Materials Required
• Several days in advance, prepare sweet potato by slicing very thin and air dry it until brittle. (Prepare this several days ahead of when it is needed.)
• Several days in advance, if using peanuts, separate the peanut oil from the peanut protein and fiber from a jar of non-homogenized peanut butter. Spread half the resulting protein/fiber mixture and air dry on foil. Keep the oil in a separate container.
Procedure
1) Reflect on Carver's story and think about possible applications for peanuts and sweet potatoes. How can we be like Carver and find some uses for these materials? Some of the possibilities may be:
Peanuts. (Use unsalted, unroasted peanuts or peanut butter. Peanut butter is actually best because the peanuts are already pulverized. Check ingredients to be sure the only ingredient in the peanut butter is peanuts and salt is okay.)
• As a food, peanut oil can be used as any other oil to fry, bake or combine with vinegar as a salad dressing.
• With lye, it could possibly be made into soap.
• The peanut material without oil has protein. Perhaps it can be mixed with borax to make glue or plastic.
• Is there fiber in peanut? Perhaps the shell can be made into paper by adding starch.
Sweet potatoes
• Is there sugar available? Can these vegetables be a source of starch? Is there protein and could it be a plastic?
• Are there fibers in sweet potatoes that can be made into paper?
2) Use the materials, tools and peanuts or sweet potatoes and the processes learned in the first several lessons.
Question: What product can you make from peanuts or sweet potatoes?