Fun workshop

Wellnesss Programs Seasoned to Taste 3-4:15
Presenters: Tony Irving, Liberty Science Center, Kathy Lyles, Children's Museum of the Brazos Valley, Jennifer Neal, Discovery Center at Murfee Springs,Jane Griffin Creative Discovery Museum (Chattanooga,TN)

Panelists had good information about implementing cooking, gardening and fitness programs.

LIBERTY SCIENCE CENTER - they have a pizza kitchen and outlined a traveling cooking exhibit. She also had the snazziest powerpoint presentation with interesting design elements like swooping movements.

Cooking labs, interactive, kitchen theater – media, hands on demos
Cooking labs – guests do real cooking, juice spheres, molecular gastronomy (Top Chef - LOL)
Interactives – make a pizza – 5 – 10 minutes. Pretty cool!
Solutions – partnerships, controlled spaces and using assets you already have
Controlled spaces – make sure ceiling can be washed, back of house kitchen, staff area, cooking spaces
Pizza oven – conveyor belt, knob for lazy susan, spin around for access to food products
Partnerships – corporations – in kind donations, expertise; universities – Harvard, cooking classes; Culinary Programs – internship programs, food certified, volunteered; restaurants and chefs – liquid nitrogen, juice caviar
Use what you have – café – already to set up for food prep; use outdoor space – urban environments, parking lots; month long gardening program – kids can harvest food at end of mo. “Build a salsa”
Traveling – ventless hoods, portable sinks – tabletops, portable induction cooktops
Cookingexhibition.org
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Jane Griffin, Creative Discovery Museum Culinary Corner, Chattanooga
Need – yr round exhibit “good for you” ;
Process – redesign existing space;
Objectives – encourage healthy eating habits, opportunity to sample a healthy variety of foods, show families that cooking together can e a fun activity
Programming: cooking classes – Kitchen classes - rotate recipes every 3 months
Focus on math and science, explore healthy food recipes; foster creativity and interest in food preparation; hands on interactive
Monthly staff training;
Specialized skills are taught – knife skills
Rainbow buffet – portion controlled cups, bright foods - beets; birthday parties – cake decorating – make your own pizza and museum activities
Rooftop garden
Creative collaboration – local chefs and restaurant; dieticians; Chattanooga parks and recreation; Chattanooga parents magazine – small articles
Challenges: staff training (food prep, lesson implementation, kitchen procedures)
Scheduling the space for use
Procedures to ensure that the kitchen is Clean enough to meet state health code regulations
Equipment issues
Ensure policies and procedures are followed by everyone
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Jennifer Neal Discovery Center at Murfee Spring
Hands on museum and nature center
Kitchen is on museum floor – water table right behind it – LOUD so they relocated it to enclosed room. Also, too much access to public on floor, can hear during programs now. More rentals since relocation
Snack attach 2X a week – walk ins – tied in to themes and holidays
Free Day snacks 3 times a year – Chinese new year – use chopsticks Chinese noodles
Cooking camps – 3rd – 6th grade – tools, good hygiene. Cooking up a story – littler kids, If you give a pig a pancake
Discovering Healthy Families – school program outgrowth – fitness activities with snacks;
Kids bake off; Kids Kreations; Adult Wine 101; Adult cooking series; Flash and sizzle – turned into fundraiser, local chefs come in to make food
Partnerships – hospitals, health centers, colleges; high school culinary arts classes, grocery stores, public school coordinated Health programs; local foodies; companies promoting health to their employees – Toyota! Fire department
Heathly kids initiative – Firegator fitness area – museum used to be a fire station where an alligator lived! USTA sanctioned track and field event
Healthy kids Thursdays – hands on programs with kids, resource professionals
Healthy babies – caregivers with baby, baby bootcamp – “use babies as props”
Health-themed months – “Doctober”
Events – Daddy daughter dance; mom and son speedway spectacular – Big Wheel races; mud runs; 5-K’s; first very kids only triathlon
Obesity prevention activities
Good to Grow Museum – Rancho Mirage, CA – Leadership Initiative
Four components of good to grow in our exhibit:
1. Physical activity;
2. increased acces to out doors;
3. healthy food choices;
4. reduced screen time

One exercise they had us do is create one of the recipes - they had a bag of spinach, parmesan cheese, strawberries, and stinky red basalmic vinegar. Turned out to be kinda tasty. Then they had us do a short (thank goodness)Jazzercize routine.
All in all, good information and fun group!