Cranberries may be the official fruit of the holiday season.  Whether it is cranberry sauce on a turkey, or a delicious cranberry pie, the berry has become a staple on most tables during the winter season.  During this 2-day workshop, students will learn about the history of the cranberry and through videos, images and stories see how cranberries grow, both in home gardens and in bogs. During the first lesson, students will have a taste test as they learn about the different ways of growing and creating various cranberries from the garden.

Learners will learn about the healthy benefits of eating cranberries and see pictures and recipes of some of my favorite and fun ways to eat them.  Students will be encouraged to have various cranberries to sample during class and talk about the differences in texture and taste.  We will then learn about the science inside the red fruit which contains anthocyanins.  Anthocyanins are pigments that change color depending on if they are reacting with an acid or a base.  Because cranberries are naturally acidic (it is part of the reason they have a somewhat tart taste) the anthocyanin reacts with the acid to make the berries red.  However, if you change the acidity, you can change the color too.  We will work together to see how to change the anthocyanins react though hands-on experiments to change the colors of the red cranberry.

On day two, learners will continue to explore cranberries and it's properties.  Using the techniques from the day before we will create and cranberry invisible ink.  We will discuss the different textures in different cranberries and then engineer winter structures with cranberries and toothpicks while we analyze the fruit's inside.

The final project will be learning how to make a cranberry dance.  

This class is interactive and hands-on. I engage students through my passion of gardening and always having fun while we learn.